


Traitor's Blood

by Corporal_Levi_cleans_my_house



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Canon verse, Experimental work, Kidnapping, Literal Sleeping Together, M/M, Older!Eren, Original Character(s), Shifters, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Stockholm Syndrome, Titan Shifters, Titan-Haired Eren Yeager, Tree Houses, dark!Eren, forest dwellers, forest of giant trees, humanity’s greatest fuck up, hybrid!Eren, minor alterations, outside the walls, shifter clans, shifter fevers, wild!Eren
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-08
Updated: 2016-06-20
Packaged: 2018-04-25 10:45:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 32,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4957345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Corporal_Levi_cleans_my_house/pseuds/Corporal_Levi_cleans_my_house
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Three years after the titans are mostly pushed back from Wall Maria, Eren Jaeger is lost outside of the walls when a strange titan bit him clean out of the air. A year after that…Eren Jaeger returns.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Lost

**Author's Note:**

> So I listened to Cover Your Tracks, got depressed thinking about poor Corporal having to deal with so much shizz, then wrote this:p  
> Brief notes - this all takes place in the canon verse (based on events in the manga I guess), only the royal family haven’t been dicks (YET) and the titans have been all but pushed back and out of humanity’s territory altogether. I’ve also decided that there are survivors from the old world times when the titans were first created (or at least their descendants) who live outside the walls in another forest of giant trees way away from the wall people. These survivors are shifter clans that live in little villages high up in the trees and they are the only people who cannot be manipulated by the royal family’s mind-altering bullshit. In this universe at least.  
> And Eren is about to be captured by one of them. Good times :p (no one knows about them yet, though, shh!)  
> This is un-beta’d and I only wrote it today to distract myself so don’t judge me too hard, okay?

“Heart, cover your tracks. The blood that you’ve spilt will wash what you lack. Soul, sew up your wounds. Test out your engines. Give it some room.” – A Boy And His Kite, Cover Your Tracks.

***

 

When Eren woke up, the first thing he noticed was that his head hurt. Like holy-fuck-is-my-skull-splitting-in-two kind of hurt. This (alongside the occasional soul-wracking fever) is what he gets for staying shifted for ten hours and fighting.

The second thing that Eren noticed was that it was dark as fuck.

The third was that he was alone.

Where was he? One second he had been fighting alongside his friends, taking down the titans that remained in Shinganshina, and the next…he woke up here.

Slowly, as his mind pulled further away from the haze of unconsciousness, Eren began to remember.

He remembered someone shouting his name…no, several people.

_Eren!_

The cry still echoed in his mind, drawing a horrible, ice-like dread through the brunet’s body. Eren gave an involuntary shiver.

He remembered huge eyes and a great, gaping mouth full of teeth. He remembered the horrid hell of scorching saliva that seeped into his clothes as jaws snapped shut, sealing off any and all light.

“Where…am I?”

 

_The day before…_

_Thunderous blows echoed out through the desolate remains of Shinganshina. The source: a small gathering of titans. The only titans left inside Wall Maria, apart from a few stragglers being dealt with by several Survey Corps squads._

_Three years had passed since the female titan had wreaked her terror on humanity. Three long, gruelling years. The war criminal, Annie Leonhardt, remained in her crystal to this day, buried in the deepest and darkest pit of the underground beneath Wall Sina’s Capital. Even if she were to emerge, rock and heavy darkness would surround her on all sides. It would be twice as bad if she were to burst free in her titan form. The surrounding earth consisted entirely of stone; she would be trapped either way._

_Above ground, however, life had moved swiftly on. With the help of Eren Jaeger and an allied Ymir, the titans wandering within the confines of Wall Maria had been killed off one by one. Having one shifter on the side of humanity had given the human race hope. Having two shifters actively working together all but secured their victory. There were many titans to face and the task of reclaiming Wall Maria was nothing short of terrifying. But with the aid of the Survey Corps and some transferred volunteers from the Military Police, the enemy was steadily defeated._

_The losses…were heavy. Eren hadn’t been able to save Connie when that aberrant came tearing out of nowhere, nor had he been able to stop Sasha in time from rushing off to take her vengeance…only to be slapped from the sky by that very same deviant. He had been able to take down the abnormal before Jean could swoop in and do something stupid. Like get himself killed too. Many more soldiers had died before Eren’s eyes, all fighting in the fierce pursuit of survival. And they struggled on…even when more than half of all the Corps had perished in the battles to reclaim their land. It was this very perseverance that pulled MP troops from their safe lives to join their fellow human beings on the battlefield as comrades in arms._

_And now here they all stood, every able fighter in the Survey Corps and the transferred soldiers of the Military Police, fighting alongside Eren and Ymir to take down the last enemies in the area._

_At this point their end goal was to drive the titans back beyond the breach in the wall and hold them off until sufficient rubble could be moved in to fill and block up the gap._

_The content of the Jaeger family basement, whatever they had been, had been consequently crushed into nothingness by a boulder from the very first assault on Wall Maria by the colossal titan. The colossal titan, Bertholdt Fubar, and his accomplice Reiner Brawn, had been found by a patrolling Corporal. He had discovered the pair preparing an ambush not far from the ruins of the Jaeger household. This time around Mikasa had not hesitated to remove their heads from their shoulders. It had been over in seconds._

_Eren couldn’t even find it in himself to be sad._

_With nothing left to search for, the Corps and the shifters had moved on to the last remaining task: getting to the hole in Wall Maria. Eren would seal it if he could, would spend days collecting enough boulders to fill the gap if need be. But first they had to clear the area of titans._

_And there were many. More than twenty in total were found wandering about within the town, and more sauntered in through the breach every few minutes._

_The crack and smash of giant fists against flesh rang out louder than thunder. By now the soldiers and shifters had formulated a system for taking down titans with minimal casualties. Eren, being the larger of the two shifters, was responsible for selecting and holding in place a titan while the more agile Ymir distracted and held off the other titans in the area. The Corporal, who had been working with the Jaeger brat to perfect this technique, would keep a close watch as a squad member would swoop in to slice out the nape of the captured titan. It had gotten to the point where Eren could keep two titans pinned by himself, leaving one to the mercy of the soldiers while he bit out the nape of the other. Ymir also preferred this method, tearing her lesser kin to pieces with her terrible jaws._

_The titans were falling one by one, leaving steaming corpses in their wake. Victory could practically be tasted on the soldier’s tongues._

_When the last titan within the walls fell to steam at Eren’s feet, the troops let out an almighty cheer. They had won. At least in this part of the battle, humanity had taken its victory over the titans._

_The remaining members of the 104 th trainees rushed for Eren and Ymir’s titans where the gigantic creatures had crouched to release themselves from the confines of their shifted forms. Both appeared weary, as was expected after fighting in shifted form for as long as they had today. Eren had gotten a lot better at commanding his titan and never fell unconscious when he emerged from his titan. This, of course, was all thanks to Ymir’s guidance. She was a decent mentor, harsh but effective._

_Stumbling a little, the brunet found his balance as his friends reached him. Eren was swept up into the arms of Armin, the blonde boy weeping joyously onto his childhood friend’s shoulder. Mikasa seemed equally happy in her own way, enveloping her boys in a crushing hug, coal eyes shining as she looked up at the sky._

_From a distance, the Lance Corporal loitered atop a tower. He was relieved in the face of their triumph, but Levi knew that he would not be able to blend in with the celebrating brats and troops below. So he stayed put, keeping watch and allowing himself the tiniest of smiles._

_They had won._

_Below, many cheers and tears were passed around. The more time passed, the more grateful Levi was of his initial instinct to stay put away from all the emotional mumbo jumbo. Although there was a certain brat that the Corporal would have to remember to thank later. With this victory, Levi had the closest thing to a free world than he had seen in years. Eren had promised to show the raven a world without walls, without titans, back when the brunet had been several years younger and a lot more naïve. To this day the Corporal refused to admit to himself that the pledge had been the most insufferably adorable display he had ever seen. Teenagers were meant to be a pain in the ass, and Eren was just that. But they weren’t supposed to make promises of world change and peace._

_Yes, Levi would need to pull Eren aside later and pass on his thanks. With this ray of hope, the Corporal wondered if he might just get to see a total victory against the titans before he grew old and frail._

_Just the thought that he might live to grow old and frail had the raven-haired man blinking in surprise. Here they had only just won back walled-up land and Levi was already planning his retirement. Heaven help them._

_A dark shape registered in the raven’s periphery and gunmetal orbs snapped over to find the source of the movement._

_Apparently retirement would have to wait._

_“Jaeger!” Levi barked the boy’s name to get his attention, already on the move himself. “Titan spotted by the breach!”_

_Eren’s head snapped over at the sound of the Corporal’s voice, his fierce teal gaze zeroing in on the gap in the wall._

_Sure enough…there stood a titan. It was tall, dark-haired…and strangely normal looking unlike its disproportional kin. But a titan was a titan and Eren was flying off with his 3DM gear in a heartbeat. He was closer to the new threat than the Corporal was and Eren hoped that he would be able to at least get the beast still by the time Levi came in for the finishing blow._

_Eren bellowed Ymir’s name over his shoulder as he tore off, failing to notice how his taller comrade was rooted to the spot. Had he turned, the brunet might have wondered why Ymir looked so shocked as she stared at the titan standing by the breach._

_Standing. Not advancing. Weird. Eren did not like the look of this. It would appear that they had yet another aberrant on their hands. Just great. No matter, Eren would destroy this fiend. He flew through the air, feeling the wind whipping his hair back, the sound roaring in his ears. He was in range. The brunet let out a war cry as he brought a hand up to his mouth and bit down._

_Only this time there was no great explosion. No phenomenal transformation. No titan…other than the one that Eren was flying towards. Teal eyes blinked wide, shock flooding the boy’s system as he realised that those last few days fighting must have drained him more than he had thought._

_“Eren!”_

_The name was screamed in several voices, Mikasa’s, Armin’s, even Jean’s. But the closest voice was Corporal’s. The brunet had just enough time to twist his body around in mid-air, his wide eyes meeting alarmed grey…all too far away to help him._

_“Levi!”_

_Eren’s protocols failed him, his fear pushing out his superior’s name rather than the title he was meant to use. Levi couldn’t have cared less. He gunned it towards the beast and the boy as quickly as he could manage, feeling a cold dread seize up in his chest when the enormous monster coiled in preparation to spring up._

_With a jump and a terrible snap of jaws, Eren’s body disappeared. There was no blood, no screams or missing limbs. The titan got all of the shifter in one fell swoop._

_Within seconds the boy shifter was gone._

_Levi couldn’t shout as he saw those awful jaws snap shut, sealing away his subordinate. He couldn’t do much more than surge forward, even as the titan turned its head…and looked right at him._

_It’s eyes were a light brown in colour._

_They looked…sorry._

_And then it turned…and ran. It ran like it had planned to run even before biting Eren out of the sky. And it ran with far too much speed and precision for any normal titan. Even an aberrant._

_The Corporal’s eyes narrowed as he wrenched his body to one side to swing himself around a building. He should have guessed it sooner; the musculature, the all too human appearance with no flab of disproportionate limbs, even the keen awareness in its eyes._

_Shifter. It had to be._

_“Rogue shifter!” Levi shouted back at his comrades as they finally snapped out of their shock and into action._

_The Corporal had to scale the wall to avoid any other titans that might have been waiting outside the breach, quickly followed by Mikasa and several other soldiers. By the time Levi was standing at the top, staring out across the vast expanse of land beneath them, the titan that had snatched Eren was already too far away for them to catch on foot. There weren’t enough trees to go after the fucker with their horses either, not that the troops had enough resources for an expedition anyway, much less an impromptu one._

_Three years, it had taken. Three whole damned years to push the titans back. And now their hope, humanity’s most capable weapon to defeat the titans, was gone. Stolen away._

_Levi wondered if Eren was still alive in the titan’s stomach? For the brat’s sake, he hoped that Eren died in the mouth._

_“Man down.” The Corporal murmured. “Call it, Arlert.”_

_Sobbing, Armin managed to push words past the hot tears that ran down his face._

_“Eren Jaeger died on the field of battle on October twenty-sixth while valiantly defending his comrades from harm.”_

_“His efforts have won humanity back their home.”_

_“He will be remembered.”_

_Three years after the true fight against the titans began; Eren Jaeger became a casualty of war._

_The hole in the wall was sealed with stones with the aid of Ymir, who refused to give reason for not moving to assist Eren immediately. She remains under the surveillance of the Survey Corps._

_No titan has entered the walls since._

 

When Eren woke up, it was with a splitting headache and a thousand questions.

Where was he?

Where were his friends? His Corporal?

Why was it so damned dark in here?

The brunet pushed up from his uncomfortable slouch with a groan, rubbing at his head as he glanced about, peering into the gloom. Eren had been leaning against a wall, that much was clear. So he must have been indoors, then?

But…why could he see so many tree branches just outside the window? The sky outside was darkening, a dull and deepening purple fading into navy, but the bushy black boughs unmistakably belonged to fir trees.

“Where…am I?” Eren mumbled to himself.

“Well that’s an interesting story, if you’ll let me tell it without punching me.” A voice said suddenly.

The brunet spun about on the floor, his eyes darting around to search every space. At last the squinting teal orbs spied the shadowy shape of a person leaning in the far corner. It had been a male voice, so this figure had to be a man.

Unless it was just a butch as fuck woman or something. Whoever the fuck it was, the brunet hoped that they were ready for him to open a can of Jaeger whoop-ass.

“Who are you?” Eren growled out the words, his hands curled into fists so that he could start swinging if necessary. “How the fuck did I get here? Where the hell even is here?”

“You still have your temper.” The stranger sounded amused, but not mockingly so. If anything, the voice sounded warm. “I’ll answer all your questions. Just do me a favour?”

“What?” Eren sneered, suspicion heavy in his tone.

“Don’t freak out.”

Somehow the brunet just knew that whoever this guy was, they were smiling. The shadow took a cautious step forwards, not towards Eren, just enough to get away from the darkest part of the room. Reaching into some pocket, the stranger drew out a small, glowing piece of stone which they promptly held up to illuminate their face.

The brunet’s mouth went dry.

“Hello, Eren.” A nervous chuckle sounded and the figure ran an anxious hand over their nape. “It’s been a while.”

Teal eyes opened wide, unable to look away, unable to even blink.

“M-Marco..?”


	2. Found

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I got through chapter two. These are pretty short compared to my usual stuff. Chapters might start getting longer as I go, who knows?  
> Anyway, read on.

“Detect my sudden existence on your sonar, you feel the echo…” – Vienna Teng, Never Look Away.

***

 

“Are you coming to the memorial tonight, Corporal?”

Levi hated it when Hanji called him by his title. It always meant that she was going to launch into one of her ‘I know you have feelings’ speeches and he really wasn’t in the mood. Not that he was ever in a mood to deal with his bespectacled friend’s ranting.

From his most recent office in the headquarters established within Shinganshina, Levi took a moment to look out of his window. The sun was setting on yet another day and tonight there would be a ceremony.

“He’d want you to come.” The brunette continued in that quiet tone she got whenever mention of Eren arose. “You were his idol after all.”

Even to this day, no one really mentioned his name. Eren Jaeger. Humanity’s saviour. The Rogue Titan and mentions of a specific ‘him’ seemed to be the only way that anyone outside the Corps would refer to the Jaeger boy. Levi said the kid’s name. Mostly to himself in the dark haven of his quarters during the never to be heard apologies whispered to a boy long gone from this world.

Levi could not allow himself to regret not going down to the kid earlier. If he had just gone and passed on his thanks, maybe a word or two of encouragement, then he would have been there…right beside the brat as he flew off to take on the last titan Eren would ever see. Levi could have helped him if that had been the case. But the Lance Corporal of the Survey Corps had vowed to himself that he would never regret a decision that he made for as long as he lived.

At least now Eren was free of this horrible world. Levi took comfort in that.

One year had passed since the victory of reclaiming Wall Maria. One whole year. The Wall itself had been constantly repaired, with new stones being added to the barricade each month to ensure that no enemy titans would ever breach that part of the wall again. Even the town itself had undergone repairs. Most of the rubble had been cleared to the edges of the walled area and many dwellings had been rebuilt. In these times of relative peace, where the only titans seen were the ones outside the walls or Ymir helping to lift rubble, it was easy for citizens to move back into the town.

The Survey Corps kept their headquarters there in Shinganshina and many troops lived alongside civilians since there had not been enough need to build a proper barracks. With life easing out into the tranquil state, it was almost peaceful.

Levi wondered if he was the only one who was still haunted by the look in Eren’s eyes that day, one year ago, as the boy was stolen from the world. Too young, he had been too young to go. Even though making it to eighteen years of age seemed like a miracle after all of the death and horror that had surrounded the Corps for years and years. Sometimes Levi would think about the lack of brilliant eyes full of stars in his life…and he would feel sick.

“Levi?”

The sound of his name brought the raven back from the unpleasant path that his thoughts had been turning towards. Not for the first time was the Corporal grateful to Hanji for distracting him from grief. A grieving soldier was an ineffective solider.

“I know the whole silent and brooding image is your thing, but you’re honestly starting to get me worried.”

Levi rolled his eyes wearily, pushing up out of his chair. “I’ll come to the damned ceremony.” He conceded.

A mighty sigh left the bespectacled woman’s lungs. “Thank God, I was beginning to wonder if you’d dozed off.”

“You say that like I could sleep at all at a time like this.” The raven muttered dryly.

He and Hanji shared an amused hum, but in truth the matter wasn’t all that amusing.

Even at this point, as weary as he was, Levi knew that he wouldn’t sleep a wink that night. If he slept, he would only dream of yet another soldier that he couldn’t save, and no doubt all the ones before Eren. There was no helping it, but Levi had stopped trying to will the images away a long time ago.

 

At six o’clock all the troops in the Corps gathered by the sealed-off gate, even those on patrol, to honour those who had fallen in the long battle to reclaim mankind’s territory. In their uniforms, gear and all, they lined up. The raven-haired man stood towards the back, keeping an eye on the rest of the troops. Some were already getting a bit teary, others chatted amongst themselves while they waited for the first speaker to take to the little makeshift stand that had been created for this occasion.

Armin Arlert was the one to give the first speech and it was the first time that Levi had heard Eren’s name spoken above a hushed whisper in…well, a year. The Corporal thought it might give him a sense of peace to see Jaeger’s death memorialised.

Wide aurora eyes flashed in the raven-haired man’s mind. There was no peace for him in words meant to honour a fallen comrade. At the end of the day dead was dead.

Words of praise and valour were passed around. Levi thought about the year it had taken for Eren to earn humanity’s trust enough for the Corporal’s duty as the Rogue Titan’s keeper to become unnecessary. Two years Eren had been as close to a free man as one could within these walls. Given time Levi was sure that the brat could have easily surpassed his own rank. He was certainly determined enough.

Erwin stepped up to give his own speech. The blonde’s regal words were far less emotional and covered far more than Arlert’s heartfelt address. Levi remembered the very first time he had laid eyes on Eren, slumped in the arms of his childhood friend, unable to stand and barely able to see. He remembered what a troublesome, headstrong twerp the brunet had been back then. Not a lot had changed over time; Eren had still been headstrong, impulsive and quick to anger. Levi wondered to himself when exactly he had grown so fond of the bothersome brat?

Maybe that was what had gotten Eren killed? After all, the dear ones were always the first to be stolen away.

It took a moment for the raven-haired man to register that Erwin was looking at him. The man was still speaking, but Levi understood the unspoken question behind those blue orbs.

Would you like to say a few words?

Levi swallowed, his adam’s apple dipping with the action. He had never been one to talk much in front of crowds. There was something self-righteous about giving speeches that turned his stomach and pulled a displeased scowl to his face. The Corporal gave a subtle shake of his head, wondering if Erwin would even see the motion from all the way up there where he stood on a crate – their makeshift podium for the speeches. But the blonde man gave a barely perceptible nod and those piercing eyes flashed elsewhere as Erwin’s speech continued.

A whispering sigh left the raven’s throat and Levi swallowed again. Any words that he wanted to say to Eren would have to be uttered in the quiet of his room, just like every other night. Something about that thought comforted the raven. He had never liked change, so the routine at least would not be too strange.

Levi gave an involuntary shiver. The night air was growing cooler by the moment; the Corporal expected that he would find frost on his windowsill on the morrow. The sky had long since grown dark, leaving only torches and lanterns to light the streets. Several soldiers carried torches to provide light for their gathering, but the golden glow didn’t reach far past the crowded individuals.

That was probably why nobody saw the shadow that slinked over the wall, creeping through the darkened town as though it had been born there, as though it had roamed those streets all its life. The shadow crept with all the stealth of a wolf, easing past the crowd at the very edges of the darkness.

For whatever reason, the Corporal turned his head. He wasn’t sure why, but the hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end, almost as if he were being watched. It was an old instinct that prompted Levi to check behind him, sharp eyes cutting through into the darkness which with he had been thick as thieves with once. Those wary gut feelings had never gone away and they were what pulled Levi’s head in the direction of the left side of the gathering.

He spotted it – something that moved in the shadowy darkness just outside the boundary of the torch light. A youth, perhaps? A citizen who was unsure why there were so many troops gathered?

The Corporal started forward, wondering why he felt so apprehensive about approaching this figure. It was probably just one of the street brats, all too curious for their own good.

Levi snatched one of the torches from a soldier as he went, ignoring the questioning noise it earned him. Several heads turned his way but the Corporal ignored the stares in favour of moving forward. The shadowy figure had halted, unmoving since Levi had spotted it.

Very probably a street brat, then.

“It’s no good hiding in the gloom there.” Levi murmured, keeping his voice low enough so as not to disturb the gathering. Erwin would know well enough not to let a minor disturbance stop their proceedings. “This isn’t a private ceremony, you don’t have to sneak like that.”

For a moment there was no response. The figure in the gloom remained frozen and Levi wondered if perhaps they had not heard him?

A chuckle sounded and the noise had Levi freezing in his tracks, feeling ice in his veins upon hearing that laugh. It was just a quiet sound, familiar…yet a little different. The light from Levi’s torch illuminated a pair of worn boots and faded white pants. An old uniform, it looked like. The raven couldn’t see the person’s face, couldn’t seem to raise his arm any higher than it was.

Then the soft laughter ceased and a voice spoke up.

“I didn’t think I would be invited to my own honouring ceremony, Corporal.”

That voice. Levi _knew_ that voice. A large part of the raven didn’t want to know who this person was standing there, so close and yet a mystery. It took a herculean effort just to lift his arm high enough to cast torch light on the stranger’s face.

Only it wasn’t a stranger. Or a street brat.

Just a brat, it turned out…

Levi’s brat.

Levi couldn’t bring himself to say the name, not with the impish smile that suddenly broke out on the younger male’s face.

One whole year after being announced a casualty of war…Eren Jaeger returned to Shinganshina. And he had changed. Even in the poor light, Levi could tell. The boy’s dark hair fell into his eyes, some of the locks brushing the brunet’s shoulders, and for a moment the raven had panicked before he had recognised that this figure was Eren.

Just when the hell had the twerp gotten so damned tall? The boy had his gear, his belts, even his cloak. But it was the eyes that sold it. No one else had those stunning orbs filled with light from the stars themselves. Those eyes seemed to bore into Levi now, rooting him to the spot. He couldn’t move, could only stand there with wide eyes and God knows what expression on his face.

Whatever his face was doing, it seemed to amuse Eren. The boy opened his mouth to say something when an almighty shriek rang out.

“ _EREEEEEEEEN!_ ”

Hanji. It had to be Hanji. She must have spotted them.

The sudden scream of surprise spooked the brunet and he took off in an instant. And that was all it took to get Levi’s legs moving, the torch in his hand clattering forgotten to the ground.

He gave chase, following the dark figure of Eren as he raced off through the darkened streets. Only a scattering of lamps helped to air his vision, granting him sight enough to pursue his target. Eren’s feet clattered against the pavement as he ran, the boy’s body ducking through little streets that Levi hadn’t even known about. It reminded the raven of his days in the Underground. Levi hadn’t been called King of the thieves for nothing. He had known the streets of his home better than the back of his hand. No one could catch him on his home turf.

But this was Eren’s home ground now. The rules were very different.

Christ the kid was fast. Levi could barely keep up, mentally cursing that he hadn’t kept to a stricter training schedule. But the raven pushed on, even going so far as using his gear in the hopes of catching the fleeing boy.

But Eren had thought ahead. The moment he was in range, the younger male grappled to a rooftop and swung himself up, heading up the great wall as fast as his gear would carry him.

_No. I won’t lose him again. Not a second time._

Without a second thought, Levi chased after the brunet, scaling the wall after him. The Corporal was vaguely aware of shouting, a commotion having built below them, but he couldn’t tear his eyes off a retreating Eren’s back. A crunch of stone by his ear startled the raven out of his staring and Levi turned to shout at whoever was following.

“Careful, Hanji!” He bellowed over his shoulder.

Several soldiers, including the crazed scientist, had snapped into focus and were scaling the wall behind him already. Levi looked up in time to see Eren swing over the top, though the raven was close enough himself to hear the grunt the boy gave as he landed. The strained sound was painfully familiar, even after so long. Swinging himself up and over, the Corporal landed far more easily than the brunet, running him down like his life depended on it. Levi made it to the far side, lunging forward and colliding with the escaping boy. The pair went down with a thud and Levi hurried to pin the Jaeger brat down before he could try anything stupid.

Eren groaned at the impact, but when those teal eyes opened they were wide and full of mirth. The brunet didn’t struggle, didn’t try to stop the older male from pulling his wrists together. Eren’s skin was hot, so much hotter than the Corporal remembered. It had been a year, of course, but Levi was certain that Eren’s skin had never been this heated before. It was a wonder the kid wasn’t burning up where he lay. For a moment the raven had an odd urge to check the boy’s temperature, as he had done so several times before when the brunet had gone through fevers after shifting.

Levi realised with a start just how big the brat had become, so much taller, even broader. There was meat on his bones now, muscle that was not familiar to the Corporal. He blinked, rendered silent in his shock.

Whatever had happened to the lanky brat he had met in Trost?

“Looks like you caught me.” The younger male wheezed, but he managed to smile.

Eren managed to look coy as he shifted, having the gall to smirk when Levi readjusted himself to press one forearm over the brunet’s throat. He held the taller male’s wrists in place with one hand, squeezing tight enough to make Eren wince.

“You haven’t changed a bit.” The brunet smiled, although the pressure on his throat had the boy’s voice coming out as an airy rasp.

Levi couldn’t tell if he wanted to laugh or cry at that comment. He hadn’t changed, huh? Well Eren had changed enough for the two of them. He shouldn’t even be alive. _How_ was he alive-

A shout sounded and Levi looked over to see Hanji come tearing up over the top of the wall, more voices approaching not far away. She landed, eyes darting about in the gloom.

The momentary distraction was all Eren needed. The second the Corporal’s attention was pulled away from him, Eren wrenched his wrists free of Levi’s hold. The raven’s gaze snapped back to the brunet, feeling a mix of shock and concern shooting through him when he took in the boy’s grin. Gravity shifted when Eren surged upwards, knocking Levi back in a perfect reversal of their previous positions.

“Got you.” The brunet all but sang, his eyes dancing with triumph.

Levi sneered, realising now that it had been a stupid idea to underestimate Eren. Clearly he was no longer the dopey brat that the Corporal had known. This Eren had been able to easily overpower him. He hadn’t even had to try.

What the hell had happened to this kid?

A hand snaked around Levi’s shoulders, tugging the raven tightly against Eren, and Levi watched in horrified understanding as the brunet raised his free hand up to his mouth. That grin never faltered, but somewhere in the back of his mind the raven registered that he had never seen his subordinate look so alive.

“Close your eyes.” Eren murmured.

It was the last thing Levi heard before the boy bit down, sinking his teeth into the flesh of his hand, and the raven’s world became one of blistering heat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...still not shite? I'm a little happier with this chapter than the first one, but it's all necessary for setting up the fic and what not :p Toss me some feedback if you would, let me know what you think so far.  
> Next chapter, when I finally get it done, should start having the kind of interactions that I first imagined for this fic. Hopefully we'll see dark!Eren and Levi hashing it out.


	3. Kidnapped

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter three. Continued on from chapter two mostly, with a minor time skip of like half an hour. Cos, y'know, Levi passed out.

When Levi opened his eyes, he could barely see a thing. All that his body could register was the heat surrounding him. He was sweating, his uniform clinging to his flesh with the disgusting dampness. The feeling was almost nauseating levels of unpleasant and Levi might have shuddered if he could move at all. It was difficult to force his panicking mind to slow enough to focus on his surroundings, other than the rather obvious slimy hotness.

Red. That was the first thing the raven registered in the barely there light that he realised was coming through the membrane of skin behind Eren’s head. Like holding a hand up to the sun, the skin could not hold out all light. But the only light that made it through was dull red. It was enough for the raven to train his focus on the boy he was trapped against.

Eren. Eren, who the raven was pressed up against so snugly. The brunet had managed to trap Levi’s hands between their chests, tucking the raven’s head against the crook of his shoulder to protect him from the heat. Levi couldn’t move and he was having difficulty breathing in this stifling, cramped space.

It was with a bone chilling horror that he realised where they were. This was the inside of Eren’s titan form. Eren had trapped him within the nape, allowing a titan to form around them both and sealing them off from the outside world. And from the feel of things, they were on the move.

A clever move, for shifters in titan form could run faster than horses could be prepared.

The raven was almost certain that he had passed out, and probably for more than a few seconds. Levi wondered just how much time had passed, trying to focus on his thoughts to fight off the panic attack that threatened to take hold of him.

“Your heart is racing.”

The Corporal froze, feeling his muscles go rigid at the sound of Eren’s voice. Eren, who should have been in a coma-like state while driving this hunk of titan, was talking to Levi instead. The raven-haired man strained and pushed to crane his head back enough to catch a glimpse of the brunet’s face.

Eren had one greenish eye open, a little lazy smile curving his mouth up at one side.

“Don’t worry, Corporal.” The brunet, gave a languid grin. “You’re perfectly safe.”

Safe? How could anyone think that? Even Eren, as questionable as his judgement could be, should have known better than to claim that being _inside of a titan_ was in any way safe. Levi wanted to glare, but his eyes were watering from the heat. Reluctantly, the raven ducked his head under Eren’s chin to escape the sweltering warmth.

“How can you be talking?” Levi demanded, making sure to speak up so that Eren would be able to hear him, even though the raven’s throat felt dry as a bone. “How can you talk and control this lump of flesh?”

The brunet gave a weary chuckle. “There are a lot of things that I can do now.” Eren said in a tone that sounded almost wistful. “But I’ll show you some other time.”

Levi tried to pull back, learning how much give the muscles around him had. There wasn’t much. In the midst of the dark and the heat and Eren, Levi could feel himself about to hyperventilate.

“Please don’t panic too much.” Eren spoke up again. “It’s very distracting.”

“How dare-”

“Shh…” the young shifter crooned, his smile a mix of amusement and…was that fondness? “You haven’t changed a bit.”

Eren’s eye slid closed then. He didn’t speak again after that.

Levi lost track of time, trying to count the thunderous steps of Eren’s titan running to gauge just how much distance they were covering. Without knowing how far they had already travelled it was somewhat redundant, but the counting helped. The Corporal kept razor sharp focus on his task, managing to ignore where he was by closing his eyes. Beneath his ear a beating heart pounded out a constant rhythm, never quickening or losing speed. The steady thrum pulled Levi’s focus, drawing in his attention to that one sound.

Eren was _alive_.

Eren was right there, living and breathing plain as day. There was no way that this could be a trick or an imposter; no one could plan such a perfect hoax as this. The kid was warm, tanned skin hot enough for the raven to wonder whether Eren was feverish, the brunet’s body more hardened than Levi remembered.

Just what had happened to this kid in the year he had been away? Where had he been?

Be it the heat or the weariness that clung to the raven’s mind, Levi slipped back into unconsciousness around thirty minutes after waking.

 

The next time that Levi woke, he barely remained conscious for more than ten minutes. Blinking blearily, the Corporal managed to see that he was free from the confines of Eren’s titan body now, lying on the floor of some filthy room on his side.

His face pressed against the rough grain of some sort of timber. It smelled like pine.

The clothes he wore stuck to his body uncomfortably, but Levi was too tired to move, too tired to care. He felt delirious, his head pounding and his throat dry.

Somewhere not too far away muffled voices could be heard. Levi only caught snippets of what was being said, but he recognised Eren as one of the two people speaking. It was obvious in the way the kid tried to whisper, failing miserably even a few rooms away.

“-holding a ceremony or some shit-”

Ah, Eren must have been going over some report of his trip inside the walls. Levi wondered whether the brunet had had some agenda other than visiting his home. Had there been a mission? Had Levi interrupted that mission?

“-got spotted by-”

The Corporal heard his own name in the mix, feeling himself smile groggily against the floor. Eren sounded caught between frustration and relief at describing himself being discovered by his old superior. It made the raven wonder if Eren had wanted to be caught, even if the boy wasn’t aware of the thought himself.

From the sound of things, the Jaeger brat missed home.

There was another voice in the mix, a more concerned tone that seemed to chastise Eren with worried thoughts like ‘you could have gotten yourself killed’ or ‘we don’t take prisoners’. Knowing that there was someone concerned over the occasionally idiotic brunet set Levi’s heart and mind at ease. His first thought had been that Eren must have survived outside of the walls all this time alone, fending for himself. But clearly that was not the case. Even if it confused and worried the Corporal, Levi was relieved that Eren had not been alone.

The brunet only hissed back indignantly at his comrade’s concerned chiding.

“He chased after me…what was I supposed to do?”

Classic Eren, always on the defensive. At least there were some things about the kid that hadn’t changed.

Blinking slowly, Levi looked around for a window or a door. He knew that being a prisoner, even to someone like Eren who could probably be talked around, was not a good situation to be in. The Corporal knew that he should attempt to get the hell out of there as soon as possible. He tried to drag himself closer to the one window in the room, making it almost halfway across the room. His whole body ached and it took a moment for the raven to register that he was cold.

Levi closed his eyes, curling in on himself in the hopes that it would be warmer. He was asleep in moments.

 

Knocking gently on the wood of the wall, Eren paused by the curtain of woven leaves that sealed off the room where he had placed Levi. The brunet waited patiently for an answer, expecting some sort of grumpy ‘hello’. But when a couple of minutes passed and no response came, Eren eased in through the curtain anyway.

He was tired, his legs ready to give way beneath him after running his titan all the way from Wall Maria to here, his home. It still felt odd to call this place home, even though living here amongst the trees, high off of the ground, came so naturally to him.

Before his abduction from Shinganshina, Eren had thought there to be only one forest of giant trees. Now, though, he knew better. There were many of them; pockets of enormous trees clustering together to form forests here and there all over the land. Eren’s people, those he had been living with for the past year, had made their home in one of the largest forests around. It took a solid day and night of running in titan form to reach this place from Wall Maria and Eren was exhausted from the trip. Not to mention the fact that he had been more than a little distracted by the presence of his unexpected guest.

Levi’s heart rate had been alarmingly fast several times, causing the brunet to slow his run in order to check on the smaller male. Carrying the Corporal inside the nape was preferable to holding him, as it left Eren’s hands free so that he could defend them easily if a titan stumbled upon them. There were still a fair few of the gigantic beasts wandering around outside the walls, but Eren’s people had learned to cope with this thanks to the presence of the several shifters in their clan. That and the fact that their homes were built only in the highest boughs of the tallest trees. No titan could touch them so high, leaving the aloft village in times of relative peace.

Entering the room, which just so happened to be part of an uninhabited dwelling, Eren felt his brows furrow at the sight of the raven-haired man he had once called leader. Levi was shivering, curled tightly into a ball on the wood of the floor. A part of the brunet wanted nothing more than to lie down next to the smaller man and take his rest, feeling unsteady on his own feet. But Levi had been exposed to a lot of heat today and Eren needed to make sure that he kept the man hydrated.

He went to fetch some water, kneeling by the Corporal and shaking the man gently to wake him. Levi stirred with a grumble but accepted the water, drinking it down in large gulps when Eren held the cup to the raven’s mouth.

By the time the shifter had set the cup aside, Levi was already unconscious. Eren couldn’t hold back the smile that formed on his lips when the raven nestled against his folded legs, seeking warmth as an antidote to his shivering. The brunet’s smile softened and he brought a hand down to trail tan fingers through the raven’s dark hair. The black locks were still damp from being trapped inside Eren’s titan and the brunet felt a strange sense of satisfaction when he could smell himself on the raven-haired man. He hadn’t meant to bring Levi back with him, hadn’t meant to stop and watch the ceremony at all. But something had stopped him, some memory of the look in the Corporal’s eyes when he had gotten snapped up by Marco’s titan. Not that the Corporal would even know who Marco was; the man had never met him.

Once Levi had a hold of him, Eren had known that he would take the man back with him. If he had gotten away, then that would have been that. But he hadn’t escaped. After all this time, Levi still had the upper hand in some areas at least.

And now he was here in Eren’s home. The brunet could have jumped for joy if he wasn’t so damned tired.

He had really missed his old Corporal. Eren missed a lot of people, but Levi had just understood him, understood all the pain and the burden that he had had to carry like no one else had ever seemed to understand. Of all the people to bring back into his new world, Eren was glad that Levi had been the first.

A wave of nausea washed over the brunet then and he lay down quickly, easing Levi’s arms from around his legs so that he could lie back without hurting the other man. The floor was uncomfortable but Eren did not have the strength it would take to carry himself and Levi back to his own house. Here would have to do. The brunet gathered a sleeping Levi, frowning even in unconsciousness, and pulled the raven against him. Eren had to sleep off the impending fever that remaining shifted for more than a day had earned him, and Levi would at least be warm enough to hopefully not catch cold if he slept by the brunet.

It took only a matter of moments for Eren to lose consciousness once he was lying down with his eyes closed, no longer focusing on anything but sleep.

Without realising it, the brunet threw an arm over the sleeping raven curled against his side.

 

Hot. Heavy. Those were the two immediate concerns of a waking Levi when he blinked into consciousness some hours later. He was far too hot for his liking and something heavier than a cow had apparently decided to use him as a cushion. Wriggling and squirming, it took about ten minutes for the raven to worm his way free of what he had identified as Eren. No amount of complaining or shoving had been able to get the brat to either wake or move, and so Levi made do with crawling his way free.

Sitting up at last, free of the boy’s over-heated body and crushing weight, Levi turned to glare at the brunet.

“You fucker. I’m not a goddamned pillow.” The raven punctuated the words with a kick to the sleeping shifter’s arm.

Eren gave a protesting whimper, lolling his head to one side, but other than that he did not stir.

Levi briefly considered strangling the brat, maybe dropping him out of the window to make the boy pay for abducting him. Honestly, didn’t the kid know it was rude to kidnap people? Especially right after letting them know that you were alive when all of humanity had believed him to be dead?

Eren’s manners were horrendous as ever, it would seem.

Looking down at the sleeping face, expression smooth despite the fever raging through his body, Levi couldn’t have brought himself to hurt the kid if he had wanted to. Eren had been another name on the list of people that the raven hadn’t been able to save for a year now. Only now had the twerp come back, proving that not everyone was lost to the Corporal. Changed as he was, with the body of a man rather than the boy Levi had known, it was still Eren lying there. For now, at least, it would do just to watch him sleep.

Except that Eren was sweating something awful. Levi touched a hand to the brunet’s forehead, retracting his hand quickly when he was met with skin far hotter than it should have been able to get. Christ, the kid was burning up.

The raven found a wooden bowl nearby with some water in it, an empty cup sitting next to the bowl. Levi vaguely recalled drinking some water a while back…these must have been the tools with which Eren supplied the liquid. The Corporal had to remove his cravat to use as a cloth, dipping the material into the bowl and applying the now soaked material to Eren’s forehead. His concern grew when the water actually began to steam away.

Was this normal? For a shifter at least? Levi knew full well that no one should even be alive with such a high temperature, but for someone like Eren…was this okay? The brunet was still breathing and his heart was beating evenly when the raven bent to press his ear to the younger male’s chest. It felt odd to care for his kidnapper in such a way. Levi didn’t exactly feel like a prisoner while the person who had taken him lay unconscious on the floor under his care.

Trust a reckless brat not to tie up his prisoner. Did Eren think that Levi was not a threat to him? With the way he was tending to the kid, Levi couldn’t blame Eren. Even the raven felt a little sheepish wiping sweat from Eren’s face, wringing out the cloth and dipping back into the bowl to get more water on the brunet’s skin. He wasn’t even sure if it was helping, but he couldn’t just sit there while a comrade suffered.

Levi stopped himself with a start, realising that even after being abducted he still saw Eren as a comrade in arms. Truth be told it wasn’t all that surprising, after all how did he know what the brunet’s intentions had been in bringing him here?

Looking down at the face of a boy that he had once known so well, the raven gave a weary sigh. He would just have to stick around and find out.

For now, though, he would stay by the brat and make sure that Eren actually lived to answer his questions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to all who have read this so far and left feedback :) sorry that the chapters are so short, I literally pump these out in a couple of hours after dinner :p If you spot a mistake, please let me know. Thanks again, kudos to you all!


	4. Familiar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Flashback chapter!  
> So I forgot to mention this, but there will be SPOILERS in this fic for anyone who has not read the manga. Like holy shit dang goddammit kind of spoilers. So if you’re one of those people who has only watched the show, proceed with caution. Or better yet go, read the manga, and then come and join us again ^_^  
> If you HAVE read the manga and are up to date or have read to chapter 66, then basically everything that happened up until Eren was saved from the underground cavern thing has happened in my fic verse. But from that point instead of double colossal titan happening, instead Reiss fuckwit dies via Levi’s badassery (will probably be expanded upon in the fic at some point) and Historia claims partial ownership of the wall territory as Queen so she and the ‘Royals’ share control. The other Royals were talked into letting Eren live and keep their ‘Cry’ power as long as he didn’t use it. If he uses it, then they will kill him. And I think that’s all you need to know.  
> So yeah, all that BS with the MP special squad with Kenny happened. But Kenny is fine now; I’ll probably bring him into the fic at some point cos he cool. Rod Reiss is dead too. But everything after that was the battle to reclaim Wall Maria and kill off the titans inside the wall. So ignore any of the manga plot after that point.  
> Phew. Yup, that’s it.  
> P.S. un-beta'd :p

_One year ago, a day and a half after initial capture…_

It had taken Eren an entire day to be convinced that he was not either dead or seeing ghosts.

Marco was really there, not dead as his comrades believed, as Eren himself had grown to believe. He had never seen Marco die. No one had. But there had been a body close enough to Bott’s description to convince Jean that their friend had not made it out of Trost alive.

Somewhere deep in his heart Eren had never been able to accept the fact that Marco was gone from their lives. And now here he was being proven right. But the dark-haired boy looked quite different from the sunny individual that had trained with him all those years ago. Marco was definitely taller, about half a foot taller than Eren remembered. His hair was shaggier, not quite as short as it had been, and the freckled youth’s eyes sparked with more than just a kind nature. There was brightness in those pale brown orbs that Eren had never seen before. Marco was alive…more so than the brunet had ever seen a person look before. It was as if his very soul was shining through from the inside out.

But Marco hadn’t brought him here to this strange above ground village just to reminisce. As it turned out, there was a lot that this not-so-dead comrade had to say and to show Eren.

First of all, Marco had had a question to ask the brunet.

“Do you remember those stories we would here every now and again?”

Eren frowned a little, thinking of what stories his friend could mean. Marco, seeing the brunet’s confusion, decided to elaborate.

“The Captains and veterans, even Shardis would talk about them sometimes. About how the world used to be different…but nobody remembers?”

Oh, _those_ stories. They weren’t told often, but from time to time an older soldier or a wise old man or woman would share a tale or two about the way the world used to be.

“Yeah…” Eren nodded, frowning at the floor, “Commander Pixis told me something like that once.”

The brunet recalled a time he had spent walking along the top of the wall, chatting with the Commander of the Garrison Regiment before the decision was made to use his power to seal the wall in Trost.

“It feels like a lifetime ago now,” Eren murmured, “…but he mentioned that there were some people who thought that humanity needed some great threat, a common enemy, and that would draw them together and put an end to war and greed.” The brunet scoffed. “As if something like that could ever work.”

Had the teal-eyed shifter looked up then, he would have noticed the knowing smirk Marco gave at his words.

“What would you say if I told you that something like that had already happened?” The freckled boy asked.

Eren turned his head to look at his friend. He blinked once. “Huh?”

Giving a soft chuckle, Marco met Eren’s eyes to get his attention. “The people that live here…you can see that we’re outside the walls, right?”

Eren nodded.

So Marco continued. “And we’ve clearly survived despite the titans around us, yes?”

“Yes.” The brunet agreed carefully.

Eren wanted to trust his freckled friend, he really did, but the dark-haired boy had never spoken like this before.

“These people, myself included; we’re the descendants of that old world, Eren.” The boy paused, looking out across the forest with a long sigh. “I can’t tell you what it was like before, none of us know. But the story is passed down time and time again and it’s always the same. Once, before the titans were brought into this world, there were many more people.”

The brunet couldn’t believe what he was hearing. So there had been a greater world before? More than just walls and fear and death?

“How many?” The question blurted free before Eren could think to stop it. He found that he didn’t care. “Thousands?”

“More than that.” The dark-haired boy smiled.

Eren blinked owlishly. “Hundreds of thousands?”

“Millions, Eren.” Marco almost whispered, the words coming out like some great secret of the universe. “Maybe even more than that. Numbers that we couldn’t possibly begin to comprehend, all over the land.” The young man swept a hand up through his dark hair, smiling all the way to his eyes as he looked up at the sky. “Those lands that Armin told you about, the ones you used to talk about all the time? They were ours once.”

The mention of Armin’s old stories brought back a hundred memories of books and pictures that Eren and his childhood friends had spent hours looking over. Fields of sand, planes of ice, water filled with salt enough that it could never run out. Eren tried to picture it, tried to manipulate memories and replace fields of green with blue that would stretch on endlessly. He feared that he would never truly believe it unless he saw the sights with his own two eyes. To know that human kind had once been free to search and explore these wonders made the brunet’s heart leap in his chest.

“But apparently all those humans were a greedy bunch.” Marco said with a sigh, swinging his feet off the edge of the branch. “There were terrible wars, uncountable deaths. And then a scientist invented a serum.”

Eren’s eyes widened at that, and he knew exactly which serum his friend meant.

“A serum which he used to contaminate a water supply, turning the population of an entire community into the titans that we know today. He created the impossible threat that humanity was meant to band together to defeat.” Marco paused, a slight frown pulling his brows together. He looked weary. “And just look at the human race now, Eren.” The boy gave a long, tired exhale. “They hide inside their walls, lied to by their King. A King who won’t lift a finger to help them.”

Marco turned to the brunet then, reaching over to place his hand atop Eren’s shoulder. The gesture was friendly, but it also gained the freckled boy all of the brunet’s attention.

“But we’re different, Eren. You and me, we don’t belong inside those walls.” The dark-haired shifter shook his head, settling back against the tree trunk behind him. “Your father passed along the shifter gene to you through one of the surviving serums. The rest, we have here.”

Leaning forward at those words, Eren frowned in surprise. “There’s more titan serum?”

Marco nodded, glancing over at him. “Along with the regular titans that were meant to destroy the corrupt world, that scientist created shifters. Otherwise there would be no one who could have a definite chance of defeating those monsters that were created.”

The more of the story that Eren heard, the more surprised he felt. But it all made sense. Why would anyone create a monster that couldn’t be defeated in some way?

“But…then how did I become a shifter? Why did my dad…” Eren trailed off with a frustrated hiss.

“Grisha used to live here with us.” Marco supplied, not surprised when the brunet’s head snapped around, teal eyes blown wide from shock. “Your father stole some of the serum from us before he fled to live within the walls. Life was easier for him there. Until he started messing with the nobles.”

Eren knew all too well just how much his father had messed with the nobles and their plans. But the scout had not known that Grisha had been a part of this shifter clan.

“My dad used to be one of you guys?” The teal-eyed young man asked in a small voice.

It seemed like there was more to learn about his dad every damned time his name was brought up.

“Yes.” Marco nodded, but then he smiled and some of the stress eased out of Eren’s shoulders. “So really these are your people too, Eren. I thought it was about time to bring you home.”

Home. Eren hadn’t had a solid home in years. Not since the very first assault on Wall Maria. The Corps had become his home away from home; a mobile family that went with him everywhere. Eren felt sad suddenly knowing that the scouts were no longer a stone’s throw away.

“So then what happened to the serum my dad took?” The brunet asked, trying to distract himself before he could think too much on how much he was beginning to miss a lot of people.

Eren wondered what Corporal was doing? Or Mikasa? Hell, even Jean.

“Some of it he used on himself, some on you.” Marco’s voice interrupted the brunet’s train of thought. A good thing, too, because the teal-eyed shifter had been getting nostalgic. “The rest, about three vials worth, were still in the basement of your home.”

“Oh.” Eren’s face fell a little. “I won’t be able to give them back, then. The basement was crushed.”

At least now he knew some of the basement’s contents, though. Had his father meant for him to find these extra vials of serum and…make more shifters? Was that the master plan after all? An all-out war on the titans anyway?

“That’s okay.” The freckled shifter said. “We don’t hold you responsible for the theft. It’s good enough just to have one of our own back.”

“One of you…” Eren hummed, soft and thoughtful. He blinked up at Marco, “but who exactly are your people? Our people?”

“We’re survivors, Eren. You know enough about that to relate, right?”

The brunet nodded, shuddering at the memories of the many times he had narrowly escaped death. Even that first time when he had been swallowed by a titan in Trost, it hadn’t been enough to kill him. Eren Jaeger was a survivor alright.

“But…why live out here? Isn’t there risk?”

Marco gave a nod, smiling like he was amused by the brunet’s concern. “Of course there is.” He replied, leaning forward a little to murmur. “But we’re free, aren’t we?”

To live without being caged in by walls, they certainly were free. Far more unrestricted than Eren had ever been. Although…now that he thought about it he was outside the very last of the walls for the first time. For once there was no looming grey barrier marking the edge of where he was allowed to go.

Freedom tasted wonderful.

But Eren didn’t like the way Marco answered his questions with more questions. It made him have to think too much, pulling thoughts from his brain instead of giving him the answers that he wanted. Eren wanted to go home, wanted Marco to come back with him. He could imagine the look on Jean’s face if he saw Eren sauntering back into town trailing a thought-to-be-dead Marco. Kirschtein would cry like a little baby for sure.

But Marco didn’t look like he was about to get up and follow Eren back. In fact Eren wasn’t sure he could find the way back if he tried. Come to think of it, the brunet had no real idea of where he was. All that he knew for sure was that he was somewhere outside the walls in the middle of a clan of shifters like himself. Even if he ran there would be more than enough people capable of stopping him.

“Am I a prisoner here?” Eren asked, worry colouring his tone as he turned to look at the other shifter.

Marco shook his head, offering a kind smile. “I only wanted you to hear me out.” He said the words like a vow. “If you decide that you want to go back, I’ll take you. But consider what you will be leaving behind here, Eren. This is a place where you can thrive.” The freckled boy offered him a wistful smile. “So then…will you listen? Will you let me show you our home?”

Eren paused, chewing his bottom lip for a long moment as he thought. Surely there was no harm in letting Marco show him around, right? Even if he seemed different, Eren still felt that same trust for his old friend. Marco wouldn’t hurt him. He wouldn’t lie, not about these sorts of things. And if all the things that the freckled young man had said were true, then Eren wondered what else he might learn from listening to Marco’s stories.

Glancing up, the brunet gave a single nod. “Alright.”

 

Eren nearly let out a shout of alarm when Marco led him outside of the little hut in which they had been sitting and talking. The cause of his momentary fright happened to be an eighty foot drop that ended in a rushing river below.

While the brunet was busy recovering from his panic attack, Marco laughed beside him.

“Shut up.”

“I told you already, we live up high for a reason.”

The reason was all too clear. Living without the protection of walls, there was nothing to keep titans away from their village. Apart from the very interesting system that these people had employed. Their entire village was built aloft in the trees, high enough that no regular titan would be able to reach them. The dwellings were constructed against tree trucks and atop of great branches for maximum stability. There was no fire in the village because of course the light and smoke would alert titans to their presence. Instead there was a peculiar rock that Marco called titan stone. Eren recalled having seen it before in the deep caverns where he had been held by the Military Police and Historia’s father. It was made by a special type of hardening ability, like Annie’s crystal. Marco said that it took training to be able to make this rock, but it glowed in the dark and small pieces could be used to provide enough light inside of their homes without drawing too much attention from below. Connecting the village was a series pf pathways built on wide branches. Sometimes bridges built from wooden planks and ropes were necessary for travel between homes in separate trees. It made Eren want to sit down and watch the daily life of these people as they wandered about their aloft town.

The place was so green…it was beautiful. Even though danger lurked below.

Even if a titan got the idea in its head to attempt to climb up a tree, it wouldn’t be able to make it high enough to reach even the lowest dwelling. Marco told Eren that it had happened once before; a particularly curious and persistent titan had started to try and climb up. It hadn’t been able to get too far, but some of the shifters had taken it upon themselves to break off the branches on the surrounding trees at a certain point up their trunks after that, just in case. With nothing to hold onto, there was no way for the simple titans to reach the village.

“How do the shifters get up, then?” The brunet had asked with a curious frown.

Marco had smiled as he had answered. “They jump.”

Eren had been so curious that the freckled boy had rounded up a few of the shifters and they had put on a little show for the brunet. He would have never believed it without seeing the sight with his own eyes. But it was no lie; at the point where the branches ran out, the shifters would swing themselves up or use the last branch to launch themselves into the higher boughs of the trees. It was amazing that none of the branches broke under the weight. Thankfully these shifters titans’ had small enough bodies that they didn’t put the trees under too much strain.

Come to think of it, though, all of the titan forms that these shifters seemed to have were quite lean and nimble, not bulky like the armoured titan or enormous like the colossal. And to make it stranger, Eren’s own titan form was not overly bulky either. Maybe he really did belong here with these odd forest people? Some of them seemed more animal than human, with longer nails that pointed like claws and some that even had sharp teeth. But the sight wasn’t nearly as unsettling as it should have been. Eren couldn’t help but notice how much these people’s titan forms actually resembled their human forms. It was actually kind of scary how similar some of them were. Whereas Eren’s titan didn’t look that much like him at all, apart from the eyes he was told.

“Is something bothering you?”

Eren turned at the sound of Marco’s voice, feeling a little frown pulling his brows together.

“They all look so much like their titans.” He stated, voicing his thoughts.

The freckled boy nodded, taking a seat on the branch that they had been standing on. “You’re not wrong.” Marco agreed, smiling over at where his friends were chatting on a far bough of another tree. “Are you wondering why you and your titan look a little different?”

When the brunet looked down, Marco’s pale orbs were already looking at him. Eren had never seen the ex-scout look so calm. Even in a forest full of threats, this boy was completely at ease. He gestured for Eren to sit by him, beginning to speak again as the brunet sat down.

“It took us a little while to figure it out,” Marco began, “but our titan forms are a reflection of ourselves as we’re meant to be. It’s a perfect mix of human and titan genetics, that’s what tetanisation summons into being.”

“So what about me, then?” Eren enquired curiously.

“You were repressing your titan genes for so long, not even aware that you were doing it.” The freckled shifter explained. “It was your hatred. Your will to defeat the other titans out there. And then when you suddenly realised what you were, society called you freak, monster, abomination. Not exactly a peaceful birth. But out here there is no such judgement.” Marco waved a hand at the surrounding area, smiling a little smile. “No one here will look at you and think monster. Inside the walls you are forcing yourself to repress your nature. It’s camouflage, Eren. That’s it. The rest of us are at peace with who we are…and look at what we can do. It’s because out here there’s no need for camouflage. We are who we are, Eren. What’s so wrong about that?”

 _Nothing_ , Eren thought to himself, _nothing at all._

 

The boys conversed for what felt like hours, with Eren asking question after question and Marco answering as best he could. It was surprising how much his old friend seemed to know about life inside the walls, even more recent life. The freckled raven had moved into the walls only a few months before joining the Trainee Corps where he met Eren and the rest of the 104th trainee squad. Marco had only been inside the walls anyway to spy on the Royal family, all part of the reason why he had planned to join the Military Police and be close to the King. But then he had heard rumour that the true Queen of the walls was one of the 104th trainees and his mission had abruptly changed to follow after whoever that was. As soon as he had suspected that it was Krista, now Historia, he had joined the Survey Corps. And then Eren had shifted.

The brunet pretty much knew the drill from there.

“Everyone said you were dead.”

“I know.” Marco said sadly. “I heard rumours of my own death. It wasn’t me, though.”

“So where were you?”

“I disappeared in the battle for Trost after the fighting was done.” The dark-haired shifter began to explain, rubbing at the bridge of his nose. “As soon as I saw another shifter, I started trying to learn who it was. And then Pixis explained that ridiculous plan to us all and there you were. Trost’s new titan boy. I could hardly believe it.” Marco gave an airy laugh, shaking his head at the memory. “Once everything was calming down, more or less, I headed over the wall and moved out to report back what I’d learned.”

Slowly but surely, Eren was beginning to understand. Marco had never died. In fact he had never been injured at all. The poor soul that Jean had found had been another of their 104th comrades. Kirschtein had merely mistaken him for Marco, not that he could have been blamed. From what Eren had heard, there hadn’t been a complete picture left to go with. Marco was quite distressed when he heard the tale, but when he learned that Jean had joined the Scouts he couldn’t have been happier.

Knowing that his friend had decided to make a change instead of hiding himself away brought a great happiness to the freckled boy’s heart.

And then there came the rest of the serious talking. Eren asked what Marco and his people planned to do about the titans that still wandered the land. There were still so many of them out there just waiting to cause trouble. And a whole pack of shifters was bound to draw their attention at some point. If the spinal fluid of a shifter was the only way for a regular titan to reclaim its human identity then surely these forest dwellers wouldn’t be too safe for long.

Sad as he was to admit it, the freckled young man acknowledged that there wasn’t much that could be done for the rest of the titan wanderers.

“The rest of the titans, there’s no way to save them now.” Marco looked mournful as he said the words, his eyes staring sadly towards the ground far below. “They’ve been trapped, left mindless and ravenous for too long. I doubt there would be a single strand of humanity left in them anymore.”

The thought of so many innocent people being left to go mad, forced by instinct to hunt down and consume their fellow human beings, made feelings of sorrow build in Eren’s chest also. He didn’t like the idea of having to kill so many people, even if they had become nothing but monsters now. Not even shadows of their old selves would be left.

“So then…what will you do?” Eren asked in a quiet voice.

He wasn’t sure why they were talking so low. It just felt right. Respectful, even.

“We’ll have to kill them off.” Marco said after a long pause. He didn’t sound happy about it. “It’s the only way. They might be mindless, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t be dangerous.”

Eren agreed. The titans had always been dangerous. They couldn’t simply be left to wander.

“There’s a war coming, Eren.” The dark-haired shifter said in an uneasy tone. He gave another short chuckle. “And I won’t lie and tell you that I don’t want you on our side. I do.” Marco cast the brunet a sidelong glance. “You would make an invaluable weapon with your power.” He smiled suddenly. “How did the Royals take it when they learned that you had their power?”

The mention of the Royal family and their all-consuming power made the brunet’s head hurt.

“The Call?” Eren huffed out a weary sound. “They weren’t happy.” He admitted. “But we reached an understanding. Historia, she made the rest of the nobles agree to let me live so long as I didn’t use that power against them. Corporal was ordered to kill me the second I tried anything.”

For a moment there was nothing but quiet and the soft sounds of wind, accompanied by the twittering of birdsong. Somewhere below, a doe called out through the forest.

“So they said they’d let you live, huh?” Marco gave a sad sigh. “That’s exactly the reason I came to get you, Eren. We knew you were close to driving out the titans and I needed to find you before that.”

The brunet sent a confused frown Marco’s way. “Why?”

“The Royals are treacherous.” The other shifter answered him without hesitation. There was concern building in the boy’s eyes as he spoke. “You must have known that they planned to kill you the second the titan threat was gone, right? And then humanity’s minds would be wiped and all this terror would start all over again.”

Eren felt rooted to the spot. He had to force himself to breath, to blink. That was the Royal family’s plan? They were going to kill him all along? And enslave humanity even further?

“Y-You knew all that?” The brunet managed to stammer out.

He almost couldn’t believe it…but the words made too much sense to be false.

Marco gave a sad nod. “It’s the reason I took you when I did. If you go back now, Eren…they will kill you.”

Curling his arms around his middle, the brunet looked over at his friend. “How do you know all this?”

“We have people on the inside.” The freckled raven admitted.

The fact that Marco would trust Eren with that information even though the brunet could still choose to go back and rat them out astonished the teal-eyed scout. He was happy that Marco trusted him as Eren trusted his friend in return. But who could they have on the inside? Did Eren know them?

“Who?” The scout asked.

He couldn’t help himself.

Marco just smiled. “I’m sure you’ll meet them one day. If you decide to stay with us, that is.” The freckled boy exhaled, looking to the brunet. “I don’t want you to die, Eren. Please. Stay with us. I can teach you how to get a grip on your abilities. How to control them, own them. You shouldn’t have to feel trapped in your own body.”

“I’m not.”

Another kindly smile was directed Eren’s way.

“You think that, but that’s only because you haven’t felt true freedom yet.” The dark-haired boy let out a peaceful sounding sigh, gazing off into the forest. “Take a little time to think about it at least.”

“I will.” Eren promised.

Brown eyes closed. “Thank you.”

“I should be thanking you.” The brunet murmured, rubbing the back of his neck. “For a kidnapper, you’ve been far nicer to me than I would have thought.”

“I am sorry about that.” Marco apologised with a guilty little wince. “Time was of the essence.”

“Yes, I guess it was if the crown really is after my head now.” Eren touched a hand to his throat in an absentminded gesture. “Do they have more serum? Or did the last of it perish in the caverns along with Reiss?”

Another weary exhale rattled free of the freckled boy’s lungs.

“I wish I could tell you.” Marco said, steepling his fingers together and resting his elbows on his crossed legs. “But serum is rare. We have the bulk of it here, more than the Royals ever had. From what my inside eye tells me, all of the serum was kept in the one place because it was so precious.”

Eren thought back to the bag that Reiss had had in his possession with its various vials. Could that have been their whole collection? From Marco’s words, it seemed likely.

“If that is the case, then the Royals have no more shifter serum on hand.” Eren stated, tapping a finger against his mouth in thought.

Marco gave a hum of agreement. “That gives us a splendid advantage, especially if-” He cut himself off, pursing his lips.

“If I join you.” Eren finished for him.

The slightly sheepish look that the freckled boy sent him told the brunet that he had been correct.

“What about Armin?” He asked. “And Mikasa? What about Jean and everyone?”

“We can save them, Eren.” Marco said, looking up with a fierce hope in his eyes. “Give me a little time to train you to unlock your true power and we can go back and save them all.”

Eren thought about it. Then he thought about it some more.

“Everyone?” The brunet asked.

“Everyone who will come with us.”

Marco promised that they would try to save everyone that they could before _it_ started. When Eren asked what _it_ was, the freckled boy’s cryptic reply was only a low murmur of ‘the war’. A war was coming, and the side of humanity had already abandoned Eren, choosing to sacrifice his life for their own gain. Marco presented an offer of peace, an offer of life, and the brunet trembled at the thought of agreeing. He would be leaving behind everything that he knew in favour of adopting this new life. His friends would be gone, for a time at least, until Eren was strong enough to go back and rescue them from a terror that they weren’t even aware of.

But if he went back now…he would be no help to anyone. Just another clumsy shifter with basic fighting tactics. Maybe he could warn a few people, his friends, the Corporal, Commander Smith, and Miss Hanji; together they might be able to come up with something. But if the Royals got their hands on him…it was all over.

And Eren Jaeger would not be responsible for people living their lives like cattle.

It was several hours later when the brunet wandered back through the maze of rope and plank bridges and pathways that wound through and round the trees, all the way back to where Marco sat waiting. The freckled youth said nothing as Eren took a seat on the bough beside him, and for a moment they simply sat together. Marco looked quite serene gazing out into the forest, blinking those lively eyes of his.

“So, Eren,” the dark-haired boy spoke up after a moment, but he kept his voice low as he turned to look at the brunet, “do you want to become one of us?”

That very question had plagued Eren all afternoon. But he had his answer. He had made his choice.

“Yes.” Eren answered.

And he would never allow himself to regret it. No matter how long or short he lived. Teal eyes blinked, willing back tears at the brief flash of grey eyes and dark hair that accompanied Eren’s previous thought. He hadn’t thought of how much he would miss his Corporal. The man had been by his side for so long now…and suddenly he was but a memory.

The freckled young man gave a nod, smiling off into the forest once more.

“Good,” Marco murmured low, still smiling softly, “that’s good. Welcome to the pack, Eren.”

The words sounded strange, but considering the odd little tribe Eren supposed that they were closer to a pack than anything else. The brunet wondered what it would be like to live out here, surviving off of the wild lands. No doubt he would learn quickly or starve.

Sighing again, the freckled boy turned to face the brunet. “Well then…I guess I should tell you about the initiation ceremony.” He said then.

Eren blinked, feeling curiosity and a slight sense of unease settle in his gut. “Initiation?” He parroted.

All Marco could do was nod, unable to tell the brunet the things he would soon face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeey 5000+ words this time, not too bad ^_^ I'm getting there, slowly. Finished two assessments today ^_^ feeling accomplished!  
> Okay, so this chapter was very important. If I missed anything or you are confused about ANYTHING let me know because I might have forgotten to mention something or maybe I just haven't gotten around to putting it in the fic yet. If you're confused, tell me. I'll try to fix that.  
> And as always, thanks for reading!


	5. Water

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I broke the short chapter pattern. Un-beta'd. I'm sorry.

Eren woke to the sound of the Corporal’s cussing, an unimpressed string of winded profanities leaving the raven's mouth, and all of them aimed at him. Even through that out of breath wheeze that Levi’s voice had taken on, the words managed to be biting. Icy like a bucket of cold water over one’s head. Eren supposed that waking up with a brat lying on top of him had been excusable to the Corporal the first time. Twice was probably pushing it. From the sound of things Levi was pissed and had no intention of quietening anytime soon. The brunet whimpered, a dull throbbing starting in his temple, but he rolled off of the smaller man anyway if only to make Levi stop hissing at him. It worked so far as getting the noise to cease, but now Levi was panting and that was even more distracting.

Ignoring the ache in his head, Eren sat up and cast a glance at the Corporal. The man's skin shone with a light sheen of sweat and, while the glistening flesh was more tempting than it had any right to be, the brunet recognised that it was clearly not a good sign. To top it off, Levi’s skin was flushed, a heated pink colouring the man’s face and neck. Eren tsked as he pressed a hand against the raven’s forehead, ignoring the hissed reprimand and noting that the skin was too warm for any normal human being.

The brunet grimaced in concern.

“You’ve got a fever.” He stated.

“Really? I couldn’t tell.” Came the rasping reply.

Eren did not smile at the words, trying to blink away lingering weariness as he examined the smaller male. Being inside a shifted form for prolonged amounts of time hadn't exactly done Levi any good. Even shifters who were used to the change came out with fevers, and for the raven’s body to go from such a warm environment to the cooler forest air certainly hadn't helped. Now Levi was ill, his body burning up, and Eren feared he would have to carry the Corporal all the way down to the forest floor to bathe him in the river. It wouldn't be easy, but Eren had to get Levi cooled down. His body wasn't used to this sort of fever and the sooner Eren took care of the things the sooner it would subside.

Granted, the brunet had a fever also. He often did after shifting for long periods of time. But his body was well used to it by now; a few more hours of sleep would probably have cured him completely. As it was Eren still felt unpleasantly groggy and sticky, not at all in a mood to be dealing with his impromptu prisoner. But Levi was his responsibility and, truth be told, Eren was glad to have the Corporal’s company. It had been a long time since they had last done anything together. Even then it had only been mundane things, like training or occasionally sitting at the same table during meal times.

Eren never expected their next interaction to involve Levi on the floor in still-damp clothes, panting in the throes of a fever. It pulled a little compassion to the brunet's features as he stooped to collect the Corporal in his arms.

 

Levi's eyelids had felt heavy beforehand but they opened wide now as gravity shifted. Eren, the big clout, was picking him up and for no real reason the Corporal suddenly felt as though the brunet would deposit him out of the window. The brief distress quickly morphed into an indignant struggle, one that Eren did not seem to care for as he tucked the raven securely against his chest to limit the older man's squirming. Scowling and swearing up a storm, Levi fell silent when Eren carried him right out of a door, made a left turn and stepped through an opening that led...outside? In a moment the raven's surroundings had shifted from a wood and mud abode to the colossal branches of great fir trees. Enormous boughs stretched every which way, with little homes built and nestled into the branches and against the stable tree trunks. The forest of giant trees, Levi recognised. It had to be. There was no other explanation for such gigantic foliage. It became immediately clear to the raven just how far away the ground would have to be for the tops of the trees to seem so close to them now and he avoided looking down for all of about five seconds. Until it became apparent that Eren was about to take the final step right off the edge of the branch that they were standing on. It was enough to prompt a single glance towards the ground before Eren allowed himself to lean right over the edge and let gravity carry him down. The Corporal gave a single shout, trying to decide if he wanted to clutch the brunet closer or toss him away for being such an idiot. He opted for closer, praying that the moron's body would break his fall at least. Wind whipped through the man’s damp hair, summoning a biting chill in his cheeks as the air rushed by. Levi’s eyes teared up from the speed of their fall but he blinked them away, unwilling to look away or even close his eyes for more than a second. A sickening tingling rose in the raven's body, most noticeable in his gut, as they fell.

They were really going to die, weren’t they? Great. Good job, Eren.

A sudden horrid lurch had their downward plunge halting and Levi wondered if they had crashed to the earth just yet. Risking a glance, he noticed that no...they were not on the ground. Eren had reached out to grasp at some kind of...vine? No, it looked like a cable...and had the same sort of slight elasticity.

Just when Levi started to open his mouth to say something, Eren let go once again, letting them fall. It didn't take the Corporal long to realise that these cables, which looked suspiciously like pieces of Hanji's titan-capture nets, were strung up all through the upper boughs of these trees. Once those ran out, Eren clawed at the tree trunks themselves, leaping with strength that he should not have possessed to get from tree to tree, wedging his feet and hands into carved nicks in the wood so that he and his cargo would not plummet to their deaths.

By the time they finally reached the ground, Levi was too busy silently pleading his stomach not to attempt to upheave his last meal onto the brat carrying him to notice the grass beneath them. He knew his face must have been a sickly green colour by now but Levi couldn’t bring himself to care. He felt like coughing up a lung and then some, there wasn’t enough energy in the raven to give a shit about what he looked like.

Eren probably wouldn’t care at any rate.

The brunet eased the smaller man down onto the ground, sitting him on the grass with less grace than what the kid was probably hoping for, but Levi was just glad to be still at last. He wheezed out an admittedly pathetic sounding exhale and slumped sideways, watching the world tilt with him.

It didn’t help with his queasiness. That in itself annoyed the raven to no end. He wasn’t queasy. They used ODM gear every day in the Corps. He was _used_ to being jerked every which way. But apparently no one had told his fever that.

Levi groaned, rolling onto his back with a winded cough. He could feel eyes on him, knew it was Eren staring like the shameless little shit that he was. The shameless not-so-little shit.

“I hate your guts right now.” The raven managed to rasp, hating how breathy he sounded. “I hope you realise that.”

Eren only chuckled, the sound reminding the raven of honey and dark timber, and Levi wished he could have looked up to see what expression the kid had been wearing.

“Sorry, Sir.” That dark timbre held traces of amusement, curling in that rich tone like melting chocolate.

Levi hated to admit it to himself, but Eren sounded decadent. Dark and husky, like the threat of smoke ahead of a forest fire, but rich like the sweets that the raven had used to pilfer from the backs of supply carts in his underground days.

“You don't sound very sorry.” The raven-haired man accused.

He lifted his head just in time to see Eren shrug, a little smirk tugging at the corner of the boy’s mouth. Still a boy after all this time, despite his appearance.

“It was the quickest route.” The brunet said, like they hadn’t just fallen eighty feet in the name of short cuts. “Weren't you always telling me to be efficient?”

The answer? Yes. Yes, Levi had often chided this very brat when he had used too much gas or exerted too much effort. The Corporal had given the good old efficiency lecture to Eren on more than one occasion only to find that it never sunk in.

Until now, apparently.

Levi grit his teeth, glowering weakly. “Shut up.”

“Come on, then,” Eren continued, completely disregarding the raven's previous order for silence, “the water will make you feel better.”

Water? What?

Frowning, Levi wondered at the brunet's words for a moment before the sound of rushing water registered in his ears. He inhaled through his nose and yes, there was the crisp scent of a river. And close. Levi let his head loll to the side, taking in a stream that bubbled happily several feet away. It occurred to the raven that the forest floor was quite nice. Pleasant, even. Blades of grass tickled Levi’s cheek where it rested on the ground, the earthy scent of damp soil invading his nose. Everything seemed fresh, alive.

So Eren had brought him down here to wash up, had he? The kid sure had picked a picturesque spot. Levi couldn't deny that he would be grateful to get some of the grime off of his skin, but the idea of cleaning up in front of this cocky brat wasn't something that the raven was looking forward to.

Eren didn't give the Corporal a chance to complain or protest, though, already right there when the raven made to sit up.

“Back off, brat.” Levi bit out, the words leaving quick and harsh in his surprise at finding the brunet already so close.

He hadn't even heard Eren move.

The shifter didn't so much as blink at the biting tone, moving ever closer. Eren pushed the Corporal down, wrestling him all too easily to the grass when the smaller male fought back. So this was how it was going to be? Levi admitted to himself that he hadn't expected Eren to be this cocky, but with the strength he carried around it was no wonder that he had planned to manhandle the raven from the beginning. He had probably anticipated Levi's stubbornness and planned ahead. Clever brat.

Too big hands held him down, one across his throat and the other pressing into his abdomen. Once upon a time Eren hadn't been able to so much as look Levi in the eye. Now he could overpower him without breaking a sweat and hold his eyes the whole time. The Corporal hated how much that riled him...in both bad ways and good. There was clearly nothing that he could do to stop Eren, which left the option of letting the kid have his way. And Levi's mind had wandered with thoughts of this brat time and time again...only now Eren was not a boy...Levi saw a man in him. And fuck if that didn't turn him on despite his best attempt at remaining in control of himself.

Eren shifted atop the raven, straddling the smaller man's chest so that he could keep his arms pinned by his sides. It was certainly effective. Those big hands moved then, releasing Levi's throat in favour of removing his clothes. The raven swallowed, wondering just how the brunet would go about this. Rather than the violent, shirt-ripping strip down that the raven had been expecting, Eren was attempting to undo each button and buckle carefully. It was almost adorable...if this lout of a cub could even be categorised as adorable.

Levi didn't like the meticulousness of Eren's actions, avoided the knowing teal orbs that sought his gaze. He had been ready for fire, for that old Jaeger passion. But not this calm, collected Eren that stared at him like someone who was actually thinking things through. Eren's gaze reminded Levi of Armin, of Erwin, and he hated it. Missed the brilliant fire that came with the brunet's usual, spontaneous actions. Levi squirmed and kicked, using his legs which were about the only thing not pinned under Eren's weight. He tried to dislodge the shifter's balance, to upset his centre of gravity and get him the hell off. But Eren wasn't moving, he didn't even flinch when the raven pulled both of his knees back and rammed them into the boy's lower back.

The brunet grimaced a little, scooting his ass back a little to limit Levi's movement while keeping his arms pinned.

“Please keep still, Sir. If you struggle like that, I might rip your uniform.” Eren said, like that was the only thought on his mind.

Levi could only stare owlishly up at the brunet. Either Eren really was that noble, or there were a few screws missing somewhere in that skull of his. Now that he thought about it, his belts and harness were nowhere to be seen. Eren, or someone, must have removed his gear and belts while he was out cold. That left only his shirt, cravat, pants and socks. Even his boots were missing.

“I mean, I could probably make you some new clothes. But it won't suit you as well as your uniform does.”

“I can goddamned undress myself.”

Eren paused, raising his eyebrows as if he hadn't considered that. He frowned.

“You won't run off?”

Levi grit his teeth. “No.”

Even if he did make a run for it, where the hell would he go? Levi had no idea which direction he would have to head to get back to the walls.

The brunet's frown deepened. “I'll catch you if you do.”

“I won't fucking run. Now get off before you suffocate me, you lummox!”

Eren did just that, moving away so effortlessly that Levi would have almost called it graceful. The brunet turned away then, tugging his own shirt up and over his head in one easy motion. His pants followed suite and man; this little shit really wasn’t shy, was he? The shifter half-turned, looking decidedly puzzled as he glanced at his balled up shirt. He might have been considering folding the garment, but Levi was a little too distracted to notice.

Somehow Eren looked even taller while nude and, Christ, what was that skin made of? Caramel? Honey? Both? Levi tugged his own clothes off miserably, irritably even, trying to keep his gaze rooted to the ground. He failed. Arms were a weakness of his and holy Maria did this brat have some. And that was about the moment when Levi let his gaze wander lower. A mistake. He had planned to pull his eyes from the distraction that was Jaeger’s biceps. He should have just looked away altogether. The brat’s height wasn’t the only thing that had increased. Grey eyes drifted down, freezing when they reached the brunet’s groin. Now Levi didn’t want to admit that he was staring…but it was hard not to after noticing…

Sweet mother of God…either Eren was part horse or his titan genetics had really vamped up the testosterone pumping through his body.

The Corporal vaguely remembered a Kirschtein-related horse joke that Eren had once told him. He couldn’t find it in himself to laugh now.

“Is that a dick or a third arm?” Levi blurted out, unable to look away from between the brunet’s legs.

Levi had seen his fair share of dicks but this thing shouldn't qualify as a dick. Then again it wasn’t disproportionate or anything and whoa, he was putting way too much thought into that…

Eren laughed, a reaction that the raven had not expected. Levi had seen the brunet naked before in the showers when the twerp had been taking too long to clean up. He had seen way to many of his subordinates in less than modest states of dress. God help him. God help _them_ , more like. Levi really should have gone for a desk job. Anything would beat shouting at sleepy, mostly-naked cadets at half six in the morning to get them the hell out of bed and into the dining hall.

_“Is that the Sun out there, Springer?”_

_“Yes…Sir.”_

_“Then what the hell are you still doing in bed? The Sun is up and burning energy, so why aren’t you?”_

_“But, Siiirrr…”_

_“I SAID MOVE IT!”_

_“Sir! Yes, Sir!”_

Eren had always been bashful and embarrassed to be seen in such a vulnerable state by his superior. That shyness was nowhere in sight now. Then again, Eren was no longer your average teen with your average dick.

“Does that thing even fit inside a woman?” The raven wondered aloud, two parts curiosity and one part teasing.

It was too late to play off the fact that he had been staring quite unabashedly. Who could blame him? Even just the sight of Eren as he was now, so tall and rugged like one of the mountain folk, was a shock enough in itself. Everything about this boy had changed.

A sardonic look flickered behind the brunet’s eyes and he shot the Corporal a wry smirk, but played along anyway.

“I wouldn’t know.” Came the answer.

Brief and yet somehow evasive. That wasn’t at all what the raven-haired man had been expecting.

“Oh?” Levi arched an eyebrow at the younger male, eyeing Eren up and down. “Still a virgin then? No girlfriend?”

“No, no girlfriend.” Eren smiled to himself as he answered, avoiding the first half of the question. “Let’s just say I’m not interested.”

Not interested? That seemed like a lie. More likely any girl would take one look at that cock and run screaming for the hills. And here Levi was trying to stop himself from taking a step closer. He really had gotten pathetic in that one, lonely year.

“Fair enough.” The raven shrugged, falling back into the defence of nonchalance. “Sex isn’t everyone’s thing.”

A quiet scoff sounded, catching the Corporal’s attention. Looking up, he found Eren smiling over at him like Levi was missing the punchline to some great joke.

“I wasn’t talking about sex, Corporal.”

Pausing, Levi squinted as he processed the brunet’s words. Well then…little Jaeger (or in this case not-so-little Jaeger) had grown a pair and gotten bold. So Eren wasn’t into women, huh? Levi wasn’t as surprised as he might have been a few years ago. Same sex couples were becoming more and more common, especially amongst the soldiers in the Corps. No one in the Survey Corps cared who you fooled around with; releasing sexual tension was a basic human necessity. Everyone knew that. With this new information in mind, Levi wondered if Eren would have said yes had he asked the boy for assistance in that particular area. The raven grimaced at the thought of his own sex life, which had been uneventful for about…oh Christ…about seven years now. Apart from a blowjob here and a handjob there from the occasional comrade, Levi hadn’t had time to bother with thoughts of his libido. He had been too busy worrying about the brat he had to babysit.

“Oh.” Was Levi’s brilliant response.

He looked at the brunet like an animal ready to flee from a predator.

Eren didn’t try anything. Instead he went and sat on the grass by the bank, letting his legs dangle in the water. The brunet stooped over to splash the icy liquid against his skin, starting with his feet and moving slowly upwards as he scrubbed leisurely.

Levi felt like shouting. He couldn’t get a read on this brat anymore. It was like all of the remnants of the old Eren Jaeger had been removed like a slate wiped clean to be filled with new writing. For once Levi did not know all of the miserable little details going on inside that thick head.

“What the fuck happened to you?” The raven said, clipped and short.

Levi couldn’t think of a single roundabout way of approaching that question. He wanted to know, had hoped to be gentle with the kid, but it was clear that this Eren didn’t need gentle. He needed a good slap up the back of the head.

“That’s rather a long story, Corporal-”

“Long, schmlong.” The raven retorted, stepping into the water with a hiss. It was icy against his feverish skin but he dunked himself under the surface for a few seconds before re-emerging and wading about for a suitable place to stand. “You dragged my ass out here. The least you can do is get off your high fucking horse and tell me…what happened to you? Why were you taken back then? Who was that titan?”

The brunet sent him a grin that didn’t reach his eyes, the calculating teal orbs focused on the raven’s every movement. “Which question would you like me to answer first, Sir?”

Levi rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. “Just start from the beginning, you shit.”

Eren hummed his amusement, his eyes fixed on the rushing river water.

“If you insist.”

 

Initiation. The word was spoken so simply, but there were many parts to it.

Isolation was the first step. After being surrounded by the judgemental, crippling aura that was humanity, Eren’s first step to ‘recovery’ as it was referred to by the brunet’s new warden, was to remain on his own until such a time as his body accepted that it could begin to change. The only exposure Eren had was to other shifters…and that in itself was a scary experience.

The brunet was introduced to a man called Tyran; a towering mountain of a man that reminded Eren of Mike. He was just as tall, just as broad, but his hair was long and shaggy and such a deep shade of brown that it almost looked black. His skin was bronzed by the sun, scattered with tiny freckles, and he had a brilliant smile on his face most of the time. Tyran was the primary trainer of the shifter soldiers in the colony. He was in charge of teaching new shifters how to tap into their powers and, as such, would become Eren’s mentor as well. One day Eren would learn that this man and Mike had been related. Brothers in fact. Mike Zacharius, elite soldier of the Survey Corps, Humanity’s second strongest next to Lance Corporal Levi. And, unbeknownst to all, shifter of the woodland colony. It was a long story, much like the story of how these people were on the side of humanity. It was a twisted view. To be honest, Eren still had trouble trying to explain it.

Eren’s first thought of Tyran was that he was fucking terrifying. It would not be the last unfriendly thought that the boy would have about this man.

 

To begin with, Eren was stripped and taken to the river, washed by many hands. Hands that scrubbed his skin raw so that there was no remnant or reminder of his life within the walls left behind. His uniform was taken away, stored somewhere that Eren did not know. He would not be needing it anymore. In fact Marco assured him that soon enough those clothes would not even fit him anymore.

The brunet was taken back into the safety of the trees and sat down in a crowded room. There he was introduced to the tribe ‘elders’ as Marco called them. Tyran was one of them, although he seemed far too young to be considered an elder. Eren chose not to question it. The meeting was awkward, at least on Eren’s part, as he wore nothing but his own skin. The strangers did not seem to mind, or even to notice, which the brunet was grateful for. He was seated in the middle of the aloft dwelling and many individuals that Eren did not know crowded in to sit around him in several circles. There was a wooden bowl in the lap of one of the elders and in it Eren could see pale grey dirt. At least he thought it was dirt. The substance turned out to be ash, burned branches and leaves from the very trees that the little colony was perched in. From there things got stranger. One by one the others in the room, including the elders and Marco, came forward and bit into their thumb, adding a few drops of blood to the ash until everyone had contributed and there was a ghastly looking scarlet paste in the bowl. Marco was the first to come forth, dipping his index finger into the blood-and-ash mix before turning to Eren.

The freckled boy came to crouch before the brunet, offering a reassuring smile as he reached out and traced his damp digit from between Eren’s eyes, down the bridge of his nose. It left a red line, a mark that would soon be joined by others. After that first mark, others came forward. Eren was frozen in place as hand swept over his skin, painting patterns on him in red. Two curved streaks ran under both eyes, dots trailed beneath those. His arms, neck, shoulders, chest and stomach were covered in similar markings, all signs and symbols that Eren did not understand. He wasn’t even sure if the patterns held any meaning outside of the holistic action of him being quite literally bathed in the blood of his new tribe.

Or his old tribe, considering that the Jaeger family had apparently been a part of this colony before Grisha had headed inside the walls to help humanity.

Covered in his new war paint, Eren was welcomed into the shifter community by his new mentor, Tyran, and given new clothes to wear. Simple garments, a pale grey shirt and some dark pants. Better than nothing. A part of the colony, more or less, Eren was led away to a lookout cabin with his new mentor. It was there that the brunet would be told the details of his new place in the colony and the trials to come.

First isolation to wipe away any reservations that he might have about himself and his titan abilities. Then training with his shifter brothers and sisters to prepare. Eren would learn how to use his abilities properly, how to fight and use his power at the same time, effectively and without shifting.

That was something that Eren was eager to learn. He just had to make it through the first process, to allow himself to change. To become what he was meant to be as a shifter.

And it wouldn’t be easy.

 

_I want to go home._

It didn’t take long for Eren to start missing home, missing old routines, missing friends. He had new people to interact with and was by no means alone. But it wasn’t the same.

Tyran talked him through his initial depression and bouts of moping.

“This is your home now, Eren. You don’t need what’s behind those walls. It’s nothing but a prison, a cage for the scared and helpless. We have to help ourselves, Eren. You can’t be scared. Fear is not an option. It cripples. Are you crippled?”

_No. I am not crippled._

_But I am scared._

Levi had told Eren on more than one occasion that fear was not something to be ashamed of. To be scared was to be alert, to be ready for anything. As a soldier one had to be ready and if fear could give you an edge then it wasn’t so bad after all.

Here, though, there were other mottos.

“You don’t need to be scared.”

Here, fear was something that a warrior should not have. Fear was not needed if you were seventy-two times bigger than anything else that could try to kill you. It was okay to show concern, but true fear was a weakness when you needed to stand your ground against the most frightening of all foes.

Other titans. Out here, the only true threats to their existence were the titans that ambled aimlessly about the forest and plains beyond.

Eren had to learn to look his fears in the eyes without blinking. He couldn’t be afraid for his friends. Or for himself.

“We will take care of you…until you can take care of yourself.”

_I didn’t get to say goodbye to anyone. What about Mikasa? Armin? The others? They’re like family to me._

“We are your family, Eren. Your blood is with us.”

_But-_

“You have to be strong.”

There it was again, that message of strength. There was unity with it, too. Be strong with us, for us. But before he could stand with his new brothers and sisters, Eren had to become worthy of them. He had thought that he was strong, had had to be for humanity’s sake. But here he learned that true strength was no simply enduring for the sake of others. It was enduring for your own sake as well. Eren had all but given up on himself more than once, being pulled along by his friends, his peers and comrades to keep going, keep fighting…when all the brunet had wanted was sleep. Or death.

Out here, each and every warrior was strong in their own way. And they were strong on their own, not just together. One shifter was worth a hundred regular soldiers. Eren learned that he was special. An asset, not just a monster.

Humanity had seen him as a monster. Even when he had tried to help them. Eren wondered if they would have treated him any better if he had remained, having secured their safety?

According to Marco, the answer was no. They would have had him killed, slaughtered like an animal just to put their minds at ease.

But there had been a few individuals that had not treated him completely like a monster. Commander Erwin had been proud to call him a member of the Scouts. The Commander had been one of the closest things that Eren had had to a father figure for some years. It had been the same for Corporal Levi for a time, at least until Eren began to realise that his feelings for the raven-haired man were not entirely platonic. Hero worship and admiration somehow turned to affection. Eren could not tell you how or why he felt the way he did, but he did not question it.

Levi had been one of few things in the brunet’s life that he had not needed to question. He was happy enough just to have the older man there.

Hanji had all but adored the brunet. There was no way that she would have let anyone harm him. She held the boy in high favour, as disturbing as some of her tests could be. Eren was grateful to her for accepting him so readily.

Mikasa and Armin had never judged him, at least not without good reason. They kept him in line, cheering him up on bad days and providing yet another reason to get up and fight every morning. The other soldiers in the Corps had learned not to fear Eren. Even Jean had become understanding enough in the end. Although he never lost that biting sarcasm of his.

Eren missed them all fiercely.

_What will Commander Erwin think? Or Miss Hanji? What about…what about Levi?_

“If you can be brave, be strong, then you will see them again one day.”

_I can?_

“Yes.”

Eren believed that. He had to. The shifters may have been preparing for war, but they were ready to accept anyone who was willing to join them. Eren was certain that he could convince his friends, his Corporal and other superiors to come back with him. They would be safe from the oncoming hell.

“But who will you meet them as? Humanity’s enslaved weapon? Or the true you? Eren Jaeger as he was meant to be? Who will you greet humanity as, Eren?”

_I…_

“Who will you be? How will humanity remember Eren Jaeger?”

_What will happen to everyone?_

“You’ll save them, Eren. If you can do this. If you can make it.”

_I can save them._

“You can. You will.”

_I’ll save them._

“Good. Now answer me this. Are you listening?”

“What are you? Human? Or titan?”

_I am **both.**_

 

That one little fact turned out to be the start of it all. Human? Yes, of course. Titan? Also yes. The point was that there was no difference to a shifter. They were inherently both. To attempt to make a distinction was folly. A shifter was as much human as they were titan. And _that_ was the key to unlocking the true power of a shifter: to access their power…without shifting. The best of both worlds came together to form the perfect warrior; a human-sized soldier, lithe and agile and with all the strength and ability of a titan. It was the perfect combination of human precision and beastly brute strength. It was more of a merging than anything else. Once one could accept their nature, they could let it shine through. It sounded like some sappy saying, something for parents to tell their children. But in this case it was more than just an emotional change, not just a confidence booster for tough times. There was a very clear, physical change that took play, particularly for individuals who didn’t accept themselves right away. Eren had spent so long fearing the titans…only to learn that all of a sudden that he was one. At least in part. He had been granted a gift, a chance to use the titan power against their natural enemy. And then society had seen him trying, had seen him succeed. And what had they done? Chained him. Shunned him. Called him monster, freak, abomination. Eren Jaeger had spent so long trying to prove that he was human, trying to control his titan abilities, to suppress them when what he really should have been doing was to embrace them. To look in the mirror without an ounce of disgust and know that everything he saw was as it should be. There was nothing wrong with accepting himself, even if no one else could do the same. Especially because no one else could accept him as he could accept himself.

When everyone else doubts you, know that their opinions cannot hurt you as long as you believe in yourself and in your own abilities.

That was Tyran’s main message, the lecture that Eren heard day after day. You are as you’re meant to be. Do not be ashamed. It reminded the brunet of the Corporal’s speech, one of the few he ever gave: do not regret your choices. Advice that Eren had lived by. He tried his hardest to make the choices that he would regret the least, knowing that his every last decision contributed to his character, made him who he was at the end of the day. But now that was being uprooted, replaced with the message of letting go. Self-acceptance outside of one’s choices. And as the days went by, Eren began to understand, to push back that feeling of disgust, of distrust with himself, and let go of them almost completely.

And that was when the true transformation began.

 

Isolation. That was the only explanation that Eren got before he was carted off through the forests. They shifted, running for a whole day. Eren followed, being led to the nearby mountain peaks where they climbed right up to a rocky outcrop, pausing at the entrance to a cave called ‘The Pit’.

The name alone had the brunet breaking out in goosebumps.

It had taken several gruelling months for Eren to learn that he did not need anyone else but himself to survive and one of those months had been spent there, in The Pit. A month in isolation, brought in food and water as required but unable to leave, feverish as he changed. There was no one else in the darkness of that wretched cave most hours of the day. For the first few days there was nothing other than a wariness of the dark and a slow-growing loneliness. But then something started to light Eren up from the inside, starting from the centre of his bones and radiating through his body. His whole body ached, too warm, and his skull throbbed ceaselessly. To say it was a headache would have been a gross understatement. Eren was sure that his skull had to be splitting in two. He couldn’t eat, any food turned to bitter ash in his mouth, and even drinking water was troublesome on the worse days. His bones felt brittle and frail for the first week, like powdered chalk packed together, ready to crumble with the slightest pressure. After that they felt like they were breaking apart, shattering and forming anew. Eren had no words to describe the agony; like someone had gotten a hellish grip on either end of him and pulled, stretching him out in some sick experiment. It was the same all over, like some invisible force was pulling and tugging, changing the way he was made. Eren threw up more times than he could count, hearing the sounds of people moving, probably clearing out the cave. Hands came with cooling rags and water to clean him, but Eren rarely saw their faces. He heard voices, a few murmurs of encouragement, promises that he was nearly there. Slowly Eren’s eyes grew accustomed to the darkness of the cave, although sunlight could still make its way inside during the early hours of the day. It was freaky…being able to see so clearly at night. It was like he was using some alternate source of light, seeing everything in shades of milky blue. Like moonlight. As the days went by, Eren discovered that if he closed his eyes and concentrated then he could hear the sounds of his comrades camped somewhere on the mountainside. He could hear the whistling of the wind, the whisper of it moving through the trees outside. He could hear the clicking of hooves against stone, probably wild deer. Eren could hear the crackle of a campfire at night and the low murmur of voices. He could even hear the low and barely audible rumbling…of titan footsteps far, far away. And that was just the beginning, just the bare minimum of what he could do. By the time the brunet emerged again he could barely recognise himself.

He had gone into that cave a boy and emerged a man. Still lean, but so much taller. His body was different, foreign to him and yet familiar. Like a slimmer version of his titan form. And it felt so strangely right to see through these eyes, these eyes that worked like new. Better than new. He could see so far, could hear so much, and his skin was burning up but he felt good. Ready. Ready to fight the titans. Ready to train for a war that he still had so much to learn about. And as he was welcomed into the arms of many of his new comrades, Eren felt like he could call this wild place home.

 

After that came the training phase of initiation. It had taken many months of training for Eren to develop the muscle that he had today. Back then he had been more lanky, wiry and lean. But then he had learned to climb eight-foot trees with his bare hands. Then he had been set against his own new friends with no further training just so that he could see how much their fighting styles varied.

It had been a tough time. But worth it. Worth it if he could…in the end…

_I can save them._

There was a lull in Eren’s story then, a long pause during which the brunet did nothing but pick at his feet where he sat in the river.

Levi couldn’t stop staring at the kid. Man. Eren. He had been sitting there just staring for God knew how long now, finished cleaning up and washing away the sweat and grime from before. And as wonderful as being clean was, he couldn’t even enjoy it. Not in the face of such a tale. Eren had been ripped away from his home and brought into this place, accepted into a tribe that he had barely known about for a few days and only a year later he was barely himself. This Eren spoke in riddles and wove words like a snake-charmer commanded serpents. His story had held such detail. It was unlike anything the Corporal had ever heard Eren, the cadet, retell.

Levi wanted to hear the rest, wanted to hear about the training that Eren had gone through here in his new camp. He wanted to know about these shifters who didn’t shift. Could such a thing even be true? Was it possible to wield titan power without making the change? Was Eren one of the shifters who could do this?

Eren glanced over, meeting wide grey eyes, and he felt like smiling. Couldn’t quite get the muscles of his face moving. His mind was elsewhere, high above in the trees while he listened to his people move about, paying attention to things that even the infamous Corporal Levi would not be able to hear.

The brunet wanted to continue his story. He wanted to see what Levi would think of him afterwards. But that was another story. Another part of the same story, really, but Eren could hear one of the other shifters coming.

“Better finish up, Corporal.” The brunet announced, getting up from where he had been lying in the river, mostly submerged.

The forest air chilled his damp skin, water droplets drying quickly with his high temperature. His own fever was passing but Levi would need a few days of solid rest before he would recover fully. Their clothes lay washed and stretched out over some shrubs, not quite dry. It occurred to Eren that he would need to find the Corporal something to wear until his uniform would be dry again. There was material in the stores and Eren knew how to sew, but that could take some time. The best part about that would be that Levi couldn’t even laugh at him for having that particular domestic skill. Eren knew for a fact that the raven-haired man could also sew; it was a useful little skill that a lot of soldiers would learn eventually to make basic repairs to uniforms and the like. Making an entirely new set of clothes would take a while longer, though, and Eren would need to take Levi’s measurements.

That could be fun.

Glancing over at the raven, Eren felt his brows furrow a little at the look on the Corporal’s face. He looked none too pleased with whatever he thought Eren was planning. The brunet couldn’t really blame him for being suspicious when he had had a not-so-little smirk plastered all over his face a few moments ago.

Levi was busy wondering if a knee to the groin would have any effect on this boy. Nothing else had worked in incapacitating him thus far, but surely Eren still had a few tender places. A few vulnerabilities?

The brunet took a hulking step in the raven’s direction, probably to try and fucking carry him all the way back to the treetops, but Levi was having none of it. Without so much as a grunt, he launched himself at the younger male, catching Eren around the shoulders. A breathless laugh sounded as Eren moved, not out of the way…but making sure that he took the fall for them both. Even winded, the brunet managed to roll them over all too easily and get his weight pressing down on the Corporal’s body. Incapacitated again.

But it hadn’t stopped Levi from getting a pale hand around the column of the brunet’s throat.

“So then, Corporal,” Eren grinned, the odd smile somehow managing to light up his eyes from within, “who do you think is the winner here?”

He nodded casually between them.

Levi couldn’t help it. He snorted.

“Best two out of three?”

It felt too much like the old days, only Levi wasn’t used to their matches ending in a tie. This Eren may still have been a brat, but he had learned a few tricks since they had last sparred.

And then Levi was abruptly made aware of why it was a very, very bad idea to do any sort of sparring, impromptu or not, while naked.

Eren shifted, relocated some of his weight, and Levi became acutely aware of the toned chest that slid against his. He couldn’t help it; his mind dove straight into the gutter as it had not done in so long. And now a brat shows up, a brat who was supposed to be dead, and suddenly Levi had no control over his libido. Just fucking perfect.

“Get off me.” The Corporal said, fighting back a flush when his voice rasped a little.

Eren only grinned down at him. “Why?” The brunet leaned closer, tilting his head to put his mouth right by the raven’s ear. “Do I make you uncomfortable..?”

Just the opposite. That was the whole problem. But when Levi didn’t answer right away it only invited the shifter closer, the barest threat of teeth grazing the raven’s neck.

“You know, I’ve thought about you a lot over the past year, Corporal.” Eren said.

Levi didn’t have a reply for the brunet, was too busy fighting the out of rhythm beat that his heart had just tried to give at those words.

“Did you think about me? Like this? At all?”

“Eren!” A new voice called from above.

Levi didn’t know whether to sigh in relief or cuss in frustration. He did neither.

Eren, on the other hand, instantly stiffened, a low growl stirring in his throat. The younger male muttered something that Levi didn’t quite catch and when Eren pulled back the brunet looked pissed. His eyes were dark, slitted in annoyance as he observed one of his comrades drop down from above, landing on the grass a good few feet away. They made no move to approach.

“Eren. We’re going to go a few rounds before midday. You should come supervise.”

The brunet hissed out a soft, rebellious sound, bearing his teeth. His eyes never left Levi’s, though, and it was more than a little intimidating. The Corporal made sure to keep his best scowl in place, grey eyes narrowed to slits. He still had a hand around Eren’s throat; the brunet had made no move to stop him. But Levi hadn’t made any real effort to choke the brat, either.

Vicious teal orbs flashed, full of some kind of dare. Daring Levi to choke him, daring this newcomer to continue their interruption, Levi did not know.

“Eren.” The new shifter said the brunet’s name for a third time, sounding a little exasperated.

The brunet's expression darkened further as they bore into Levi's wide grey orbs. For a moment the Corporal wondered if Eren would ignore the order and take him right there, right in front of one of his comrades. Even the thought passing through his mind had the raven shocked that he would come up with such a thing.

He hated himself a little bit for wanting it. Even the tiniest bit of lust felt traitorous.

But the brunet huffed out a breath, pushing away from the raven in one sudden motion, and he stood.

“Fine.” Eren bit out, stalking over to the river bank to snatch up his clothes from the shrubbery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you spotted any dumb typos, please let me know :p feedback would be appreciated if you have a minute to spare! Thanks for reading!


	6. Abode

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy damn. O_O  
> Guys...  
> Guys...  
> .....an update.  
> O_O  
> A late, un-beta'd, arguably not the greatest update. But an update nonetheless. You will probably find errors. I'm not joking, I just saw the words "Eren dropped into a couch" and there are no couches in this chapter. Or...there shouldn't be. hopefully I fixed that :p I apologise in advance.  
> This was supposed to be twice as long but there's a scene that's giving me shit so I cut the chapter in half and I'll write that shizz tomorrow, alright? Alright.  
> Enjoy!

“Electrify the resistance in your broken heart and burn it up. We’re going to photosynthesize and drink up the sunrise.” – Vienna Teng, Never Look Away.

***

 

Eren didn't seem the slightest bit embarrassed to face his kinsman in naught but his skin as he stooped to gather his washed clothes from the grass. Levi watched him stalk about, muscles shifting tensely thanks to his seething, brows pinched in frustration, and a moody darkness gathering in teal eyes. There was a decidedly menacing aura to the boy as he folded the garments with far too much precision for someone clearly holding back anger.

What was probably the most concerning part was the way the beads of water still decorating the brunet’s flesh were evaporating, steaming away and leaving the bronzed skin dry.

Levi hoped that it was just a side effect of the fever.

“Go ahead,” the brunet spoke up, aiming a weary scowl at the other shifter, “I’ll be right behind you.”

“Sure you will.” The other male muttered, but his tone was amused.

Just a tiny moment of banter exchanged told Levi all he needed to know about these two. They knew each other, that much was certain from the familiar manner in which they spoke. The sandy-haired shifter was obviously well used to Eren’s tantrums, treating the sour expression and clipped words with a chuckle and an unaffected smirk.

The Corporal remembered a time when he and Eren had been so familiar, although the brunet had not gotten to see the more subtle smirks that Levi had purposefully hidden.

Levi took a moment to eye the other shifter, wondering idly if it was a poor decision on his part to look away from Eren while the brat was still watching him. Like turning your back on a snake. The shiver that traced its way up the length of his spine didn’t help make the snake imagery any less vivid and the raven pictured slitted eyes for a moment before the image could be blinked away. Levi wasn’t quite sure where the brunet was standing, just that he was behind him somewhere. He was closer than before, though.

Eren gave an odd, rumbling purr when the raven’s grey eyes flickered away, the sound closer to Levi than he would have liked.

The Corporal elected to ignore the sound, eyeing the newcomer instead as he turned to scale the trees again. It was a young man, at least Levi thought so. Eren was only nineteen and yet he looked like he should be well into his twenties. Who knew if it was the same with all shifters? The raven-haired man took in lithe limbs, sandy blonde hair cropped short and messy, just long enough to fall into the younger male’s eyes. The shifter’s skin was tanned like Eren’s, a little lighter perhaps, and little freckles were dusted over the skin here and there.

Apparently everyone was sun-kissed here. Levi felt himself frown, wondering for a moment how he managed to be so pale even after so many expeditions out beyond the walls and fighting titans under sun and rain. Maybe he had just gone without sunlight for too long before he was dragged into the Corps. Then again he supposed that these shifters were outside day after day, every day. Some of them would have lived this way their whole lives, never knowing the confinement of walls or even buildings. Their homes were open and light could reach them even amongst the trees.

Whereas the Corporal had spent just as much time indoors attending meetings and going over paperwork until his head threatened to split. And one could never forget all those years deep below in the Underground. Levi wondered if he had developed some sort of unique condition down there, one that prevented him from tanning thanks to sunlight deficiency all those years growing up. If Hanji were there he might have passed his thoughts onto her; that crazy woman always had a flurry of thoughts to his single idea.

Levi had never thought that he could have missed his eccentric friend.

A sudden, sharp tingling ran icy fingers up the raven-haired man’s spine and he turned in time to come face to face with Eren. Well…face to chest. Damn this twit for getting so tall. The Corporal jumped despite his best efforts to keep up his calm façade and the brunet’s face twisted into a wolfish grin, silent yet triumphant for being able to catch Levi off guard. It was eerie how Levi hadn’t even heard Eren move. He hadn’t been aware of any other presence at all until the brunet was right behind him. That would be annoying if the raven ever found a way to escape this forest. He filed away the thought for later.

Eren’s eyes swirled with mischief, but the brunet turned those sly orbs almost coyly towards the ground, clasping his hands behind his back. The smug curve of his lips never faltered, though.

“You should get dressed, Corporal.” The young man stated, but his tone made Levi sure that was the last thing that Eren wanted him to do.

The raven chose not to comment on that fact, however. Eren knew that he wasn’t being subtle; there was no use in pointing it out. Instead he took the opportunity to duck around the shifter to get to his clothes, striding over to where they were strewn over some bushes. The material was still damp and Levi wrinkled his nose at the thought of wearing sodden garments.

“Or I could just carry you back as you are?” Eren spoke up again.

Levi glanced over his shoulder to look at the boy, catching Eren staring at him with a boyish smile that reminded the Corporal of a younger Eren. It made his chest ache.

The shifter was unaware of Levi’s reminiscence as he leaned forward a little, hands still clasped at his back as he shrugged in a feeble attempt to distract from his outrageously inappropriate suggestion.

It almost worked. Unfortunately for Eren, Levi remembered how many people were wandering about casually up in the trees. There was no way in hell that he would allow the brunet to cart him about in such a state. Not that he would have allowed it otherwise.

“I’m not walking around in front of your fucked up friends like this.” The raven muttered.

Even if that seemed to be Eren’s plan…which, judging by the cheeky expression on the brat’s face, it was. Levi didn’t know how the twerp wasn’t shivering, meanwhile the raven’s skin was threatening to break out in goosebumps as water dried on his skin, droplets falling occasionally from still-damp hair. The kid was still standing around like it wasn’t quite chilly out in the forest.

“That’s not exactly what I had in mind either, Corporal.” Eren said, his lips curling a little in his amusement.

The raven arched an eyebrow. “What, then?”

“We can leave your clothes to dry some more, I’ve got spare garments in my hut anyway. And besides,” the brunet lowered his eyelids a little and suddenly his smile didn’t seem so innocent, “you haven’t been to my place, have you?”

 

The answer had been no, but Levi hadn’t been able to answer that question. To the best of his knowledge, he hadn’t been inside Eren’s living quarters either here or beforehand when the kid was still a part of the Corps. Besides, all the huts looked more or less the same here and the raven hadn’t paid much mind as to where he was. He was a prisoner, they could keep him wherever they deemed fit and he wouldn’t have a say.

Eren folded the raven’s clothes, adding them to his own little pile which was then pressed into Levi’s hands for him to hold. The shifter promised to get them back to the colony in a timely fashion, grinning all the while. Levi wasn’t sure exactly how they were going to get back into the treetops but he hoped that it would be a less bumpy ride than their descent had been.

Pacing closer to the centre of the clearing, Eren shook out his hands and feet, stretching briefly in a way that was far too distracting without clothes in the way. Levi wasn’t sure if he wanted to have a heart attack and end this situation or not have one and continue staring. A not-so-quiet chuckle tore the raven’s attention abruptly from Eren’s body and Levi’s expression flattened out into an unimpressed stare.

Eren grinned, shaking his hair out like a dog, and the brunet’s pupils dilated. It took a single murmur of ‘stand back, Corporal’ to alert the raven to Eren’s plan and Levi scrambled back, ignoring the laughter behind him. The raven turned, eyes wider than they usually were in his slightly startled state, but Levi couldn’t bring himself to school his features. He knew exactly how the brunet planned to get them back up to the village. His suspicions were confirmed when Eren lifted a hand up to his mouth, glancing up at the tree tops with a sharp-toothed grin.

Levi wasn’t ready to see it again…Eren’s titan form. It hadn’t sunk in yet…that this beast of a man was truly Eren, but if Levi saw that familiar form it he wouldn’t be able to lie to himself. The night he was captured, Levi hadn’t actually seen the titan form; he had only been surrounded in searing flesh, caught within the beastly figure. Levi had prepared himself to never see the boy again, along with anything associated with him. But when lightning erupted in the forest with a deafening boom, sending out a flash of greenish-gold light and a rush of steam around the clearing, Levi realised that it didn’t matter if he wasn’t ready.

It didn’t matter because there was no close familiarity in the sight that form before his eyes.

Eren’s titan was different. Similar, there was no doubt about that, and with traits that summoned old memories of Eren’s titan to mind…but new. Taller…Levi estimated this monstrous form to be in the twenty metre class. That great head tilted to one side, green pools of fire burning from the sunken pits that were Eren’s eyes. It was like looking into peridot gemstones backlit with flame.

The title “Rogue Titan” had never seemed for fitting than it did in that moment. Only now Eren’s human form and his titanised form had barely any differences at all. Aside from the eyes…Levi felt as though he was looking at the same young man who had stood before him moments ago. Only now he was huge and lacking a few traits of male anatomy.

It felt strange to have this gigantic creature looking down at Levi like they were on the same side, the enormous head inclined in his direction, burning green eyes watching him in silence. The Corporal wondered how ridiculously small he must seem to Eren now, just a pinprick of life standing in the grass, easily smashed with a great fist or crushed underfoot.

But the titan did neither of those things. Instead Eren moved, dropping into a crouch with one knee coming to rest on the grass with an audible thud.

Levi took a wary step back, just the one, and watched the great form before him pause. One enormous hand rested on the ground, great fingers splayed out in the grass. The other hand leaned on the shifter’s folded knee.

Those bright eyes seemed mischievous even in this form. It reminded the raven of one time back during training when Levi had clapped a hand over the brunet’s mouth to get him to shut up. And of course the brat had licked his hand like the cheeky shit he was. The look in those big green eyes now reminded the raven all too keenly of that moment, although if Eren licked him now Levi knew he would have slobber in all kinds of places.

Oh hell no.

Grey eyes slitted into a glower that could send most men running for the hills. Levi knew it too, had sampled the effects of a good scowl first-hand every damn day in the Corps.

“Don’t you even fucking think about it.” The raven-haired man said in a stern tone.

A low rumble sounded from the shifter, all too amused for the raven’s liking.

“Jaeger…” Levi muttered in warning, “I will end you.”

Eren gave a kind of snort and before the raven was really ready for it, he found himself being scooped into a giant hand. Levi would never understand how a creature so massive could grip so gently but he was grateful nonetheless. Cradling his hand and the raven close to his chest, Eren closed his palm so that Levi would not fall out while he climbed.

Turning his eyes towards the boughs, the shifter took several, measured steps through the trees to get them out of the way of the colony’s main walkways. The outskirts would be far less busy and Eren’s own dwelling was located there anyway. The shifter might not have had any qualms about walking around in his own skin.

But Levi’s skin was a different matter entirely. That was for no one’s eyes but his own. The brunet was still seething from Cato’s interruption earlier, but there was nothing he could do about that now other than to make sure that no one else saw the Corporal until he was properly clothed once more.

Eren bent his knees, muscles coiling, and he sprung from the ground with enough force to shake the ground a little. The hand that had been kept free came in handy then, clutching a thick branch, and Eren swung his legs up and pulled to haul himself onto the bough. The branch, while about as thick as one of Eren’s titan thighs, did not look strong enough to hold up an entire titan. Yet the bough barely creaked under Eren’s weight as he balanced himself, eyeing higher branches with bright, green eyes. Usually he had two hands to work with, but it was worth taking the extra time to ensure that Levi wouldn’t fall to his death. Although the raven would probably be a little disoriented by the time they made it to the colony.

Branch by branch, Eren swung them up higher and higher until the hanging vines were in reach at last. Now came the tricky part. Eren faced the tree, standing on the branch he was on and embracing the trunk. They would have to climb from here but the vines were most easily reached from the height of Eren’s titan head. So the shifter positioned himself with care, ensuring that his feet had sure footing, and the hand cradled against his collar was lifted to the top of his head. Eren opened his palm.

A mildly dazed Levi tumbled from the enormous hand when the shifter tilted his palm and Eren lowered his hand again. His free hand wound about the tree trunk, latched around the wrist of the hand already clutching the tree and, as he secured that grip, Eren willed himself free.

The shifter wrenched himself out of the steaming nape of his titanised form, clawing up the disintegrating flesh of the neck to haul his way up to Levi using strands of titan hair to help his progress. Eren’s limbs were a bit shaky after coming out of his titan, but barely more than a tremble. It took only a few moments for the brunet to scale the steaming head of his crumbling titan, finding Levi standing carefully atop strands of hair, clutching their clothes.

Eren made his way to the raven, tugging the smaller man against him without pause or thought of his protests.

Levi complained but, when told that they had to scale vines for the last hurdle, he conceded to riding piggy pack over trying to climb with his still-dizzy senses. The brat’s movements in getting them this far had been less than gentle, though it had been mostly the unexpected and sharp motions of each swing that had his head feeling unpleasant and fuzzy. Levi frowned, clinging to Eren’s shoulders with a grimace and trying not to crush his junk against the smirking brunet’s back.

The shifter kept his mouth shut, though, instead of teasing the raven. Eren hauled them both up through the hanging vines and occasional cable or two with far too much ease. Levi tried not to get distracted by the shift and coil of muscle as it moved against him, but it was more than a little distracting. The raven recalled the snake imagery from earlier, likened it to this moment as well. Eren moved so fluidly, strong but boneless, flexible even with the burden of another body on his back. Wait…not a snake. More like a cat. That flexibility was definitely feline, especially when Eren used hands with sharpened nails to claw his way up onto a wide branch, apparently having reached an acceptable height now.

Levi rolled off of the brunet the moment that it was safe to do so, casting a hasty glance around. By some miracle of the universe, there was no one in the immediate vicinity. The raven let out a relieved breath, only to find himself being guided to move forwards by an insistent hand that settled between his shoulder blades.

“Oi.” The raven chided, making to turn his head.

Eren only pushed a little harder, coaxing a step out of the smaller man.

“Talk later, move now.” The brunet prompted, his eyes darting about in rapid movements, the orbs still dilated from shifting.

His skin was hot to the touch, fingertips scorching on the cooler flesh of Levi’s back, the without much of a reason to stay put the raven surrendered to Eren’s plan for now. If it involved getting out of the open, which seemed to be the idea, then Levi had no problem with that.

Eren ushered the man along, leading him through the paths through the tree branches and into a wooden hut built cleverly into the thick trunk of one of the great firs.

“Where are we, then?” Levi asked, stepping through the woven flap of hides that covered the door to get out of view.

“My place.”

The raven paused, glancing around abruptly.

“Oh.” He managed, giving a little nod.

Unsure of what exactly he had even been expecting, Levi found that the little hut suited the brunet very well. The shifter let him explore as he pleased while Eren ducked out to hang their clothes out in the sun to dry off quicker.

While Eren was out, Levi took the opportunity to wander. It didn’t take long.

Eren’s home was modest; just a few rooms built together. It seemed tiny for such a big lad, but the simplicity suited the brunet to a t. Everything was clean (or as clean as things could be when one lived in the middle of a forest) and orderly, then again the shifter didn’t have many possessions other than a makeshift bedroll and some foodstuffs. Eren had one place for sleeping, just a single spot in the one of the smaller rooms which was located right in the back of the hut. This room was built squarely against the trunk of the tree and seemed to be the only room without a window. Levi guessed that it was for privacy, not that Eren looked like he needed it after waltzing about without a single scrap of clothing on just moments ago. Had the kid even dressed himself yet? Christ.

Levi pushed the thought from his mind and looked about the little sleeping area. There was space for more than one person, but only a single chest and a pile of stitched furs furnished the room. Levi guessed that the firs were no doubt where the brunet would spend the night. The chest probably held the rest of Eren’s clothes or some other items of importance.

It was nothing like the barracks or Levi’s personal quarters but that was no big surprise. Eren hadn’t owned many things back then either, although his skills for tidying had greatly improved from the looks of things. Thank fuck for that.

The next room, which was also the smallest room, attached itself between the front room and Eren’s sleeping area, creating a sort of short hallway, if it could even be called that. There was a gap that Levi supposed was a doorway, and once one edged through there was about a broom cupboard’s worth of space. The little room was a pantry of sorts, full of high shelves stacked with what looked like stolen supplies from abandoned Scout wagons. Levi saw folded cloths, bandages hidden under leaves to protect from dust, even a couple of worn, tan jackets.

Souvenirs, perhaps? Or was this possibly one of the cleverest things that Eren had ever done?

Setting aside loss of life and comrades fallen in battle; the shifters must have learned to make use of leftover goods that had to be left behind on Scouting missions. It had always been a mystery where all of that lost equipment went, but beforehand all such mysteries were blamed on the titans.

‘The titans crushed leftover gear into nothingness’ or ‘the titans ate everything’.

That, of course, was folly. Titans only ever ate people. That was the entire point of their existence.

Still…if this place was where all that lost equipment went, along with the supplies, the clothes, the trinkets and weapons…then were the lost carts here also? Looking around at some of the better planks that held Eren’s home together, the raven suspected that those several carts to be lost on expeditions had indeed ended up in this place. Ripped apart and put to new use, built into homes for these wild people.

It was ingenious and the raven-haired man wished that he could hate these people for so easily taking things that were not theirs. But he had done precisely the same thing in his Underground days, picking up the lost items of others and taking what the recently deceased would not be using anymore. They would never use those things again, so why should he let them go to waste? It was exactly the same thing happening right here.

Survival, plain and simple. The strong forging their path through the bodied of their fallen comrades and taking a part of their strength to continue their own fight. It was a thing that Levi understood well. All too well.

Pausing, a tiny bolt of shock zinged its way through the raven as a thought occurred to him.

Levi wondered how often the shifter people would have needed to come _inside the walls_ to collect supplies like this.

That single thought brought with it a barrage of new queries.

How often had these shifters been out there watching?

How many deaths had they seen?

How long had they witnessed humanity’s struggle against the titan threat, pushing them back further and further to reclaim their territory?

Levi stepped closer to the shelves before him, squinting at the contents that he could see. He recognised the little packets of dried ingredients that rest on some of the higher shelves. The mixture within was the kind one would add to a pot of hot water to make simple soup. It was the perfect kind of food to take with you on a long trip. That was exactly the reason why such packets were taken on expeditions. That and a little bread, even stale, could go a long way on a lengthy journey. And it far outshone the option of starving while waiting for more pleasant food to make itself available.

Padding footsteps sounded nearby and with the creak of wood Eren announced his presence in the small dwelling.

“And just how long have you been thieving from your own people, Jaeger?” Levi called over his shoulder, crossing his arms to wait for the brunet’s reply.

Sure enough, Eren’s head popped around the corner, a sheepish grin plastered across his face.

“Not as long as you might think.” Came the response.

“Cheeky shit.”

The brunet scoffed, disappearing back around the corner and walking around again, from the sound of things disappearing into the sleeping area.

“Well no one else was going to use them.” Eren retorted absently, rummaging for something from the sound of it.

Levi rolled his eyes and edged back out of the pantry to take a proper look at the last room, which just so happened to be the first one he had set foot in. It was the largest room out of all of them. The raven suspected that this place was for guests and gatherings. The four walls left enough space for people to sit around in a circle at a pinch, but that made more sense than anything else given that there were no seats in sight and the floor had several firs scattered across it, no doubt also to save bare feet from scratchy timber.

“I don’t usually have guests,” Eren announced from behind the raven, having approached silent as a serpent once again, “so you’ll have the place to yourself most of the time.”

Levi flinched a little but managed not to jump a whole foot in the air this time around. He turned, twisting his body towards the brunet to shoot him a stare that hopefully conveyed just how unimpressed the raven was with Eren’s newfound, assassin-worthy stealth.

The brunet just smirked at him and held out an arm, a white shirt dangling from the end. It was clearly for Levi, even if the raven could already tell that the garment was several sizes too large to fit him properly. Still, unless he wanted to go around naked until his proper clothes were dried, this would have to do.

But he didn’t accept the shirt right away. Instead, Levi stared at Eren and his simple garments, glancing around the little dwelling where this boy-come-bear-cub had made his home. Levi blinked.

Three rooms. That was it. That was all that Eren had in this world to call his home. Just three sets of four walls built into a tree, sheltering meagre possessions.

And somehow it was enough for the teen, but Levi knew why. Even with this modest little home…Eren still got to lie under the stars at night with the knowledge that there was no cage about him. There was nothing hindering his heart’s fiery passion other than the ribs in his chest, nothing keeping him from exploring the world beyond but his own choices.

This scruffy, shaggy-haired, odd shifter brat was probably the freest person that Levi had ever known.

Or ever would know.

“Take it.” Eren’s voice cut into the raven’s thoughts, pulling the smaller man from the depths of his mind to stare at the shirt still being offered to him. “It’s alright. I don’t mind. There are other things that I can wear.”

Levi accepted the white garment wordlessly and slipped it over his head, knowing that Eren would laugh at him and rolling his eyes when the giggles came.

“Sorry, Corporal.” Eren snickered, covering his mouth with the back of one hand but it hardly succeeded in hiding his grin. “It’s just that you…you look like a child.”

It was probably true. Levi knew that he had a deceptive youth about his features, despite his age, and it didn’t help that this damned shirt was practically a dress on him. He felt like Eren had loaned him a poor excuse for a tent instead of something that could be worn as an actual item of clothing.

The brunet burst into laughter again and Levi stared at him, uttering a toneless “hilarious” and crossing his arms over his chest until the snickering finally died down.

“What now?” The raven risked the question, hoping for some kind of answer that would include his whole purpose here now that he was Eren’s prisoner.

Instead, Eren only shot him a fond smile, the dying laughter playing soft around the edges of that softened look.

“Rest a bit.” The brunet said, nodding towards his bedroom before pacing to get on the other side of the raven. Strong hands landed on Levi’s shoulders and he realised belatedly what Eren was doing. “Afterwards, I’ll take you around the village.”

The shifter had grown smart and the raven-haired man was reluctant to commend him for it.

Eren had no intention of letting Levi out of his sight, not even to sleep, unless he knew that the raven was there with him.

Clever brat.

Levi grimaced but let Eren herd him back through the space towards where he normally slept, glowering at the brunet when he pushed the raven onto the bedroll. The firs softened the fall, but Levi was no less unimpressed with his treatment. The younger male followed suite and Levi had to scoot up against the wall to make room for the big twit. The raven-haired man protested when warm arms wound around his waist but when he tried to remove the limbs they tightened like a python constricting its prey and Levi had to concede just to earn the right to breathe again.

“Don’t think too much of it, Corporal.” Eren murmured into the back of Levi’s neck, raising goosebumps on the surrounding skin. “I wouldn’t want you to wander off, is all.”

Clever, clever brat.

It took a while…a long while…but eventually the warm, the quiet sounds of nature outside, and the soft snoring coming from Eren were able to lull the raven to sleep.

His dreams were filled with gigantic forms and bright green eyes glowing at him from a distance. Levi wondered…why he couldn’t move his feet to follow those eyes.

He wondered when he had even decided he wanted to…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh.  
> T_T  
> Feedback please. I will love you for it.
> 
> P.S. I am simultaneously in love with and angry with this chapter. Please let me know if I am not the only one who feels this way. In a constructive manner, if you can manage, please.
> 
> It is two in the morning and I am going to bed now. You are welcome. Thank you. Have I covered everything? I think I have.  
> Kudos to y'all and goodnight!


	7. Titles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *sneaks onto archive*  
> *stealthily posts new chapter*  
> *crawls away*

“Corporal.” There was a voice nagging in the back of Levi’s head.

It had been there for a little while now, telling him things.

_Get up._

_Wake up._

A lot of ‘up’ related messages.

“Come on, it’s time to wake up.”

And there it was again.

It would be really, really nice if people could just let him sleep in once in a while, Levi thought. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d gotten to sleep in past the first wake-up call, even after the walls were reconquered. There was just something about waking up at the crack of dawn that felt right after so many years of having to do so by necessity. Levi hoped that he would grow out of the habit one day. Find someone. Settle down in a cottage in the countryside and fill the surrounding hillsides with tea plantations. Maybe he could even start trading at the markets.

It was a bit of a farfetched fantasy, but one that Levi liked to entertain every once in a while.

Someone jostled him and he flailed an arm in their direction, although in his mostly-asleep state his limb barely lifted off the floor.

The floor? What the hell was he doing sleeping on the floor? Had he rolled out of bed?

“Sir? We’ll lose the light if you keep sleeping.”

“Fuck off, Hanji.” Levi groused, rolling over with a huff and attempting to get back to unconsciousness.

It was a pointless effort; once Levi woke up he tended to stay up – one of the side-effects of having to be alert at a moment’s notice.

“Sorry, Corporal,” that nagging voice was back again and it sounded clearer now, “but you’ve got the wrong idiot.”

Grey eyes blinked open, staring around in a sleepy daze for a moment before they lock onto a human shaped thing that had to be the source of the noise. Levi went to tell Hanji to be quiet again when he noticed they weren’t wearing their glasses. Had they misplaced them again? Levi rubbed his eyes and blinked again, taking in bronzed skin, hair too short to belong to the crazed scientist, and eyes-

“Eren.” Levi grumbled in greeting, pushing himself up into a sitting position.

Sure enough, the shifter was crouched by the raven like some sort of dog waiting for its master to rise. The situation couldn’t have been more different.

Eren beamed down at him, a picture of happiness for no apparent reason other than that Levi was awake.

“Correct.” The brunet responded in a cheery tone.

Levi turned further, intending to tell Eren to fuck off, but he found the brunet holding something out to him. Food from the looks of it. Levi opened his mouth to decline the silent offer but Eren wasn’t having any of that.

“Eat.” The brunet said, extending his arm a little further in silent encouragement for Levi to take the dried pieces of meat in his grasp. “It would be bad if you fainted at these heights.”

The raven bristled at the implication that he would be so clumsy, his eyes narrowing in irritation. “Who says I’ll faint?”

Teal orbs regarded Levi with a long and analysing stare, taking the raven in as if to assess the likelihood of him passing out from lack of nutrition. The Corporal knew that the chances of that happening anytime soon were zero. It would take a lot more than missing one meal to make Levi lose consciousness and he had gone without rations before in times of need.

But Eren was persistent in his concern.

“If you don’t eat something, there’s every chance of it.” The brunet stated and the way his gaze hardened almost dared the Corporal to argue.

“You’re one stubborn little shit, you know that?”

Eren said nothing. His previous smile had all but gone and the merriment had long since left his eyes. They were still bright, clear with an acute focus, but with none of the warmth from before. Levi glared stonily at the shifter for several, long moments. It was eerie, the way Eren’s smile faded so gradually and then out of nowhere his lids lowered a fraction and the friendly, sunny Eren was nowhere to be seen.

For a split second Levi was reminded of Mikasa, of the emotionless voids that her eyes could become when she was ready to take on the world to defend her family. Well…even if they weren’t related, Levi had come to know that a family of choice could be even stronger than blood ties.

He had never expected to see that dead-eyed stare coming from Eren, though, and the deathly stillness that the brunet adopted so abruptly unsettled Levi.

“Eat, Corporal.” Eren said, and his mouth was the only part of him that moved, the rest as unmoving as the stone of the great walls. “I won’t hesitate to force feed you if it comes to that.”

A spark of rebellion flickered to life within the raven and he met Eren’s stare without flinching. He had to or the brat would win.

“And if I bite your filthy fingers off?” Levi retorted.

In hindsight it was a poor move.

It was a bluff, of course, and there would be no point in carrying through with such a threat anyway when the shifter’s fingers would just grow back. In a test of endurance, Levi was no longer confident that he would emerge the winner.

Eren’s eyes flickered dully as he called said bluff.

“Then you’ll be eating them as well.”

And that thought was horrid enough to get the Corporal to concede. He huffed out an irritated breath, letting Eren pass him strips of dried meat and trying to dispel the imagery of choking on bone and bloody flesh before he could make himself queasy. He believed the brunet when he said he would have no qualms in making sure that his prisoner got fed, one way or another. In a way it was familiar – that same determination had driven a younger, boyish Eren to convince Levi to eat plenty and stay hydrated. Back then it had been endearing.

Now it was considerably less so.

After the brief meal of sun-dried meat and an assortment of nuts that Eren pulled from a simple bag at his side, Levi was brought his clothes, now dry from the sun and constantly moving air that whispered through the treetops. Eren remained while the raven dressed himself and frankly Levi wasn’t surprised. The shifter felt no trust towards him, it seemed, although Eren was more than willing to act on their familiarity. He chattered away about old memories, looking away and out over the forest while Levi changed out of the brunet’s shirt and got back into his own clothes. It was a relief to step into items that actually fit him. He sat on Eren’s makeshift bed of furs, curling his toes in the air and wondering where his boots had gotten to.

Once Eren noticed that Levi was clothed again the raven was hauled to his feet and guided out of the little hut. The sky was still bright but the shade of blue was less vibrant. It must have been drawing on into afternoon by now.

Before moving out Eren paused to tug the long, leathery strap of the little food bag from his shoulder and set it over Levi’s head so that it draped across his chest at an angle. The bag sat below Levi’s hip and when the raven turned to question Eren’s actions the brunet only told him to eat and then gestured for the older man to move forwards.

Eren kept a firm grip on one of Levi’s forearms as they moved around the narrow steps that had been carved into the trunk of the great tree, only wide enough for one person. The brunet let Levi lead them which made no sense at all to the raven as he had no idea what the layout of the shifter village was.

Yet. He hoped to know more soon.

A push at his shoulders directed Levi when to turn and the only time the raven wasn’t being tethered to the colossal brat by that insistent grip was when they had to descend down some twisted vines in order to reach a lower level.

“Alright, Corporal,” Eren began as he dusted his hands together, regarding the smaller man with an odd light in his eyes, “what would you like to see first?”

Levi bit back his initial urge to ask for the way out of the forest, mentally berating himself. If he wanted to get out of here, he would need to play it safe and play his role as captive. If he could get through to Eren and convince him to return with him to the walls, then great. Levi did not hold very much hope for that option. At the very least he could let Eren show him around his new home.

With a one-shouldered shrug, Levi decided that he would let the brunet choose where they went. Just to appease Eren further, Levi dug his hand into the bag by his hip and tossed a few nuts into his mouth. He chewed in silence, trying his best not to be effected by how Eren practically thrummed with happiness at seeing him eat.

This kid was weirdly invested in his wellbeing.

“We’ll start with the gardens, then.” The brunet decided at last.

 

The gardens turned out to be a series of flat platforms stretched carefully between great boughs and secured with many vines. Smaller branches created the borders of the growing areas, stacked and woven together; they stood about fifteen centimetres high. Soil had been brought up and arranged there and a variety of plants were being grown to support the village. Some were arranged with wooden, spear-like poles standing upright for beans to climb around and cling to. Others were simply dirt, although the depth of soil changed occasionally depending on what was being grown.

“We only grow a few plants up here.” Eren explained as they walked, strolling along suspended walkways of vine and wood and looking down at the crop platforms. “It’s mostly for our convenience and to make sure they get enough sunlight. Other crops are kept in clearings.”

Levi, who had been busy frowning through a thorough inspection of the constructed platforms to see if they were sturdy enough to be safe, was pulled from his thoughts at Eren’s last statement.

“Clearings?” The Corporal repeated aloud, his brows rising in surprise. “You mean on the ground?”

On the ground where titans could be lurking behind any tree? Where the slightest moment of hesitation could lead to a horrifying death?

Even Hanji would have the sense to recognise what a precarious move that was.

“It’s not as dangerous as you think.” Eren said quickly, as if sensing that Levi was preparing a lecture. “The most dangerous part of it is preparing the soil and the planting itself. There’s always one or two of us waiting on lookout in case any titans wander too close and the titans show no interest in plants. As long as we plant them out of the way of most of the forest traffic there’s no problem.”

Forest traffic, Levi thought sourly. It was clear by Eren’s nonchalant tone that the brunet was talking about the majority of titans that passed through these woods. Unlike the fiery Eren that Levi had once been familiar with, this Eren seemed almost uncaring towards the titan threat.

Although, given his newfound allies and who knew what strengths and abilities, Levi suspected that it was a confidence born from experience that allowed Eren to be so casual about what had once been his driving passion.

What drove that fiery spirit now, the raven wondered.

Instead of asking that question, which felt too familiar and too intimate a request to make of the strange boy, Levi kept their conversation on the topic of food.

“What about pests?” Levi asked, blinking over at the hulking brunet.

At this, Eren grinned like a wolf amidst sheep. “You mean dinner.”

Had his teeth always looked that sharp? Levi hoped it was just a trick of the light.

Eren brushed off the raven-haired man’s look of alarm with a chuckle and suddenly the playful, cocky Jaeger brat was back.

“Don’t look at me like that, Corporal. Only humans make those expressions of fear.”

Or was he back? There were many layers to Eren nowadays and Levi was beginning to learn that he had no idea how to read the brunet’s moods.

Levi acknowledged Eren’s words with a raised eyebrow, feeling no small amount of surprise at the statement.

_Only humans make those expressions of fear._

What a strange sentence. The words would look like an insult if written down and yet the way they fell from Eren’s tongue made Levi think that he was being paid some obscure compliment. That he was different, not just another piece of human cattle. A fighter. A killer. Not some cowering waste of space.

A murderer.

Same thing. Dead was dead and Levi was responsible for more than the end of just one human life. Even if he had been guided by rougher hands in the beginning. Even if he had been none the wiser to the truth while killing the titans, later when his skills were refined and perfected. A precise killing machine.

A compliment, then, definitely. And yet the words offended Levi.

“You think I don’t feel fear?” The raven asked, tilting his head back just so and sending a hard stare Eren’s way.

Levi feared a lot of things; missed opportunities, dying at the hands of a mindless creature, dying at the hands of the hordes of humans he had risked his life to protect time and time again, losing more soldiers, growing old and having no one.

_Missed opportunities…_

Eren smiled at him and Levi had to fight hard not to turn away. It wasn’t the smile he knew but only a small part of him still cared about that.

“I’m more surprised to hear that you aren’t surprised that I don’t think you’re human.” Eren murmured, quiet, his tone unsurprised despite his words.

Levi swallowed with difficulty, wondering whether he should bother to have this conversation or if it would be easier to throw himself off the tree upon which he stood and let gravity do the rest.

“You wouldn’t be the first to deny me that label.” He said, knowing that there was no way he could die without understanding why Eren was here.

Why had he remained here and never once returned to the walls to let people know that he was okay? That he was alive. Levi would have been happy to keep the whole thing a secret if that had been what it came down to. Even if only he and Erwin and Hanji had been told, that would have been enough.

No regrets, though. No time wasted wishing for past moments to be rewritten.

“Will you call me monster too?”

Levi’s voice sounded strange to his own ears.

“If I did, would it offend you? It shouldn’t, you know.” The shifter shook his head, calm like Eren Jaeger would never have been. “Words are just words, just sounds that we make that picked up meaning along the way. Words aren’t like actions, Levi. I could call you a monster. I could also gouge out your eyes. Which would hurt more?”

Eren had a lot of thoughts now. He had a lot to say. In such a short time, only three hundred and sixty five days, the brunet had become a lot more capable with his words. He spoke like he’d known what he was going to say even before the conversation drifted to that topic.

What had happened to the easily flustered, stumbling brat?

“Words become actions, Jaeger.” Levi retorted.

The taller male gave a hum of acknowledgement, beginning to pace along the branch they stood on. Back and forth he went in the same little path, turning and retracing his steps with a thoughtful expression on his face.

“I recall something that Armin said,” Eren’s features twisted as he said the name, as if it pained him to recall people from his past that had defined him so much, “he used to talk about monsters and soldiers. People who can rise above monsters for the greater good often become monsters in their own right.”

The shifter paused in his pacing, closing his eyes tightly as if in focus.

“To rise above monsters, we must sacrifice our humanity.” His eyes opened again and Eren gave a single, curt nod. “That sounds about right.” Eren turned on Levi then, prowling towards him with eyes that knew too much. “And did you know, humanity has become such a warped thing? Before we made our little societies we were animals. Creatures of instinct, just like everything else. We lived by simple rules: hunt, eat, fuck.”

Levi felt like flinching at those last words, unsure if it was because of the sharp consonants or the individual uttering those sounds that encouraged such a response.

Eren didn’t take his eyes off of the raven the entire time he spoke. “We survived, we made babies, and we protected them. And the cycle went on. At one point that was humanity.” The brunet’s mouth turned down and his eyes dropped from Levi’s at last. Eren frowned at the moss by his bare feet, hissing out an irritated breath. “Now we have morals and struggle with things like ethics which we created. Right and wrong. Don’t do this, don’t do that. It’s stifling. Humanity will snuff itself out of existence with no help from the titans. They make labels. Murderer, thief, traitor. People who kill are bad, even if it is to protect or defend another life. People who steal are bad, even if all they take is a single morsel of food to keep from starving. We fear relationships because we fear losing our partners, but we’re all dying, Levi-”

And that was the first time Levi had heard his name leave Eren’s mouth since seeing him again. The sound of it echoed in his ears and stung in his chest.

“-and you worry about labels now? I recall the stories, the past tales you would only talk about when it got dark and you would sit atop the walls, alone until I learned where you went. You worry about titles but do nothing to change them. You spoke of loneliness and yet never let anyone close.” At this, Eren turned, and the look on his face was so fiercely determined that Levi never saw his next move coming.

The shifter moved, two enormous steps and suddenly Eren was right on top of him. Figuratively. Levi made to step back but found thick arms already around him, and Eren pulled him into a hold that could easily be described as crushing. And then it loosened, only enough for the raven to be able to breathe with ease, and Levi couldn’t believe that he was being embraced by this passionate little shit.

Eren had the nerve to call him out for becoming an old man too attached to titles and feelings that just didn’t matter. Eren ripped away his façade of apathy and laid him bare.

And Levi hated it.

But then he hugged him and Levi couldn’t remember the last time another human being had embraced him so freely. Perhaps this was the first time. And all Levi felt was confusion because what the hell was he supposed to feel? He was angry at Eren for making him feel vulnerable with words alone. He was aching in places that he had tried to make dormant for so, so long. He was sad because the only person to ever get this close to him was literally his kidnapper and there was bound to be some fucked up, mental shit attached to all of this.

And he was weirdly, overwhelmingly happy just to have some basic human contact. Jesus Christ, he really was just a lonely, old man. But Eren knew that. And this was the result of having someone know you better than anyone else.

It hurt.

“Stop worrying, Levi.” Eren said at last and Levi had no idea how much time had passed since he had last spoken. It may as well have been eternity. “Do what you have always done and follow your gut. If it tells you to run, _run_. If it tells you to fight, to kill, then _do_ so. And if it tells you to stay…then don’t run. Don’t fight.”

Levi knew he wasn’t imagining it when Eren held him tighter for a second.

“Just stay.” Eren all but breathed and for a moment he was the one who seemed vulnerable. That moment passed quickly. “But stop worrying about pointless things. It isn’t like you. You think you’re a monster? Does that change who you are? Your name, then? Does it change? Your name isn’t Levi. It’s blade. It’s weapon. It’s killer, cold, quick, and beautiful.”

_The sap thinks I’m beautiful._

_Must be blind._

“I prefer Levi.” The raven said and there wasn’t anything but truth to that statement.

Simple and so much better than any endearment that one could come up with. Like Eren had said, words were just words. Names were just words, too; sounds that humans had made up over time and attached to themselves. But a name could hold the meaning of any word and all that needed to change was tone. A name can sound like love or hate or agony or the most heartfelt joy. Who needs sweetheart or darling or any of those awkward pet names when a name in general can hold any emotion that exists all by itself?

_“Yes, Corporal Levi.” – I admire you._

_“Levi?” – You’re scaring me just a bit._

_“Corporal Levi!” – I’m happy to see you._

_“Levi?!” – Are you alright?!_

Every example, every moment that Levi’s mind offered up to prove his theory carried the same voice. The world truly was cruel to leave him with these feelings and absolutely no way out other than to follow them.

Would he ever hear a variation of his name that sounded like “I love you”?

Eren released him after hearing the raven speak and when Levi looked up he found a satisfied glimmer in teal orbs.

“Good.” Eren nodded and Levi wondered what he had inadvertently told the brunet through his one, little sentence.

He thought Eren might step back but the shifter moved forward instead, driving Levi until his back met the tree’s trunk and he found tanned hands planted either side of his head and fierce eyes boring into his.

“One title to sum it all up. Levi, the deadly blade, Humanity’s Assassin, the Underground King.” Eren shook his head from side to side, a look of what could be called reverence written across his features. “It doesn’t matter in the end. You do what you can do, and what you can do is extraordinary. So why care what the ordinary people might say about you?” The brunet asked with a shrug, and this time his tone had definitely turned playful. “You’re going to get upset by a little name calling? Monster? Murderer? Well let me ask you this, then; if a you let someone else die just so that you can remain safe and well, does that make you a killer?”

Eren paused, letting his words sink in for a long moment even though Levi was sure that the shifter was not looking for him to respond. He was proven right in that assumption when Eren began to speak again.

“What about letting a thousand people die for you?” The taller male prompted, leaning closer, speaking softer. “A hundred thousand?” Eren’s mouth curved up into a smile that rendered him downright devilish, lazily so, and he barely sounded like himself at all when he next spoke. “The titles thief, thug, and killer are very befitting of humanity. Even _monster_ is an apt description for some who call themselves human.”

_You’re not a monster, Levi._

_Not a monster. Just a human. An extraordinary human._

Monsters were things made up by humans in the first place. If the stories about the serum were true, then the same thing went for the titans. Humanity creates its own hell, its own problems, and its own monsters.

So what did it matter if someone called Levi freak? Killer? Failure? Hero? People’s opinions could change in a second. It didn’t matter what everyone thought.

It only mattered what some people thought. The right people; those select few who were desperately important in his eyes.

Eren…well, he was definitely one of them, and Eren had blatantly called Levi a monster. But Eren, by definition, was also a monster. He had also taken lives in the war and made terrible decisions and followed terrible orders to earn Humanity its victories. Eren knew he was a fiend, a freak, a monster. And if he called Levi one too, then there was only one explanation behind that.

_We’re the same, you and I._

_I understand._

But to test this theory…

“If I’m a monster…” Levi started, curious to see where Eren would go since he’d been on a roll, “what does that make you?”

The brunet was still right there, inches away, watching the raven-haired man like a hawk for any reaction, and his mouth quirked up – first a smirk, then something more – until that wolfish look was back.

“What do you think it makes _you?_ ” Eren shot right back, grinning down at him.

What did that make Levi? That was easy.

“I’m a survivor.” Levi stated, for once knowing the answer to Eren’s endless queries. “That’s all.”

Eren closed his eyes and practically purred with satisfaction when Levi gave him the answer he’d been looking for. It was a very distracting sight but Levi did his best not to let his mind wander off topic.

“I like that word.” Eren hummed, opening his eyes once more and focusing them somewhere off to the side. “Survivor.” He repeated the word and sighed. “It sounds so pitiful when said aloud, doesn’t it?”

Eren pushed away from the tree at last, turning on his heel, and Levi let go of a lungfull of air that he hadn’t known he’d been holding in. He noticed the lack of Eren’s overheated body immediately and was only slightly surprised to mourn the loss.

“Such a wretched collection of syllables.” Eren was pacing again. “And yet it holds much more meaning than soldier or warrior or hero. Soldiers follow orders. Warriors die for their causes. Heroes don’t exist; you used to say that all the time. Despite all their strength and skills, soldiers, warriors, and even heroes all die eventually. And always too soon – they go back to their families in boxes or in pieces.” Eren grew quiet, thoughtful all of a sudden. He let out a rush of breath and sat down on the great bough, leaning back on his hands. “But survivors…they endure past all of those grand titles and causes. That’s what got you so far, isn’t it, Corporal?” The brunet addressed Levi but did not look at him, staring instead out at the stretch of sky. “Fighting for Humanity, yes, but also fighting for yourself.”

“I wasn’t going to die in the gutter,” Levi said, nodding, and he found that he was agreeing with Eren, “and then I wasn’t going to die in the jaws of some big, dumb beast just because it wanted a snack.” He paused and figured it was no use holding back now. “I helped who I could.”

Eren nodded from where he sat, letting his eyes slide closed. “You did.”

“I tried to pull others out with me.”

“Futile.” The word came out of Eren’s mouth sounding oddly fond. “They weren’t survivors, Levi. You loved them but that doesn’t change anything. They were dreamers.”

“They were my dreamers.” Levi let out a slow, rattling sigh. “My stupid, naïve dreamers.”

The raven-haired man rubbed at the bridge of his nose and released a sigh through his mouth. His feet led him to Eren’s side and he sat down next to the brunet, leaving space enough for both of them to be able to lean back without any awkward or accidental handsy crap.

It probably wouldn’t have been that accidental on Eren’s part.

“I’m sad I wasn’t able to meet them,” the brunet said instead of spouting something stupid like ‘I’m sorry’, “your family before the Corps must have really been something for you to have bothered letting them sticking around. But they would have held you back.”

Levi didn’t think too much about that statement, just in case his own mind tried to prove it to be true.

“I wonder what they would have thought about the world we won.” He wondered aloud.

Eren inclined his head in the raven’s direction but Levi didn’t look over. He just waited.

“It’s not won yet, Corporal.” The shifter’s tone changed and for a few moments, if Levi closed his eyes, he could imagine the old Eren sitting next to him…just like old times. “This is very much the titan’s earth that we tread upon. Only when they are gone will Humanity own the world again.”

And there it was, that old fire still burning away under the hardened exterior of this new, brazen Eren. The old Eren was still there. In fact there was no old Eren, not really. People changed every day; the Eren now was the same as the Eren from back then, just with a lot more experiences under his belt.

Still Levi let out a hiss of a sigh and shook his head. “I hate it when you do that.”

The raven opened his eyes, looking over at the brunet in time to see him hum.

“Hm?”

“You sound like you used to,” Levi clarified, “but only ever for a few seconds. And then I don’t know you.”

A troubling situation. Levi wasn’t looking forward to all the things he knew he would learn about the present Eren. First he had to let go of the memory of the past and the boy he had lost.

“If you think it isn’t the same when I hear you speak, then you’re mistaken.” Eren paused, looking oddly stricken for a moment before he frowned. “You talk more freely than I remember. All those thoughts that go rushing through your head, sizing everyone and everything up, observing but hardly contributing your thoughts. That’s all gone now, it seems. I can hear you. Not just your words, but how you feel when you say them. One year of calm, of escape from the war, and suddenly the man of stone can speak his mind.”

Old truths and new truths – everything was coming out into the open today, it seemed.

Levi shrugged, one shoulder rising and falling. “I’ve always done that.” He said.

Eren snorted at the poor excuse. “Usually you just tell people to shut up and stop being stupid.” The brunet smiled down at him.

Levi swallowed. He blinked away from the brilliance of warm, teal eyes.

“Grief does things to you.” The raven-haired man said at last, soft and quiet like he was telling a secret. “It has to come out in some way.”

“And why is it coming out now?”

Eren didn’t sound like he was smiling anymore. The kid really knew how to pick his moments of sincerity.

Levi huffed out a breath, caught between irritation and sadness – a steady melancholy that had kept him company for a year now. The raven took a slow, deep breath, and when he exhaled again the words bottled up inside of his throat escaped.

“Probably because I had to deal with the ghost of you in my every waking moment for a whole year.” He managed to croak out, hating the way his throat closed around a wave of grief that had sneaked up unbidden. He swallowed the lump in his throat but did not speak right away. When he could get the words out without sounding strained, he did so. “And now here you are, in the flesh…and I feel like I have to tell you my every thought in case they’re the last words you’ll ever hear from me.”

Vulnerability was a difficult thing to show but since Eren’s blunt words earlier Levi was having a difficult time keeping up his usual stoic mask. He felt so worn down all of a sudden. There were cracks in his armour and Levi wanted to cry and laugh and sleep all at the same time. He didn’t do any of that.

Instead the raven looked at Eren, letting his eyes roam over the new and yet familiar planes of his face. He took in the eyes that saw too much, the teal orbs dancing under his inspection. The familiar golden tan to Eren’s skin was something that had not changed. He was still sun-kissed and heartbreakingly gorgeous now that he had filled out and grown into himself.

“That’s a nice sentiment.” The handsome face that Levi had been admiring, memorising down to the last, tiny freckle, moved as Eren spoke. His mouth curved up into something warm and achingly affectionate. “I like this new Corporal that you’ve become.”

The Corporal had to look away. He had a lot to think about but this was not the time for such meditation.

“I’m not so sure how I feel about him myself.” Levi grumbled, turning his eyes towards the forest floor so very far away from where they stood.

Eren laughed, the sound soft as the wind that weaved around them.

Levi closed his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shit got intense for a minute there o_o

**Author's Note:**

> If you squint, you can see the potential ereri.  
> Also that glowing stone is titan stone. It's a thing in the manga, in those big underground caves where all the Jaeger feast hype went down :p just in case anyone was wondering.  
> Feedback would be greatly appreciated. I’ll post a video of my cats helping with the washing if y’all send me feedback. Thanks for reading! Let me know if this idea is shite or not.


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